A Shadow in Wizard's Robes
by AngelicSilverWolf
Summary: Motivated, miffed, and magical, Shikamaru Nara was a force to behold. Whoever had placed him here was going to get it, but first he'd have to get through a school for magic. And he'd thought ninjas could be stupid. Troublesome. (T for language and violence. Temporary Hiatus because of a re-write, apologies.)
1. Chapter 1: Magic? Troublesome

_**A/N**_ **: So, my first story! So excited! Hope you enjoy, I'll answer Guest Reviews at the bottom of each chapter, and account-reviews by PMs, unless you've disabled that feature. Won't usually have A/Ns at the beginning unless it's** _ **super**_ **important. Last time this A/N appears, so read carefully!**

 _ **Summary:**_ **Motivated, miffed, and magical, Shikamaru Nara was a force to behold. Whomever had placed him here was going to get it, but first he'd have to get through a school for magic. And he'd thought ninjas could be stupid. Troublesome.**

 _ **Rating:**_ **T, and should stay that way.**

 _ **Genres:**_ **Friendship, Adventure, Hurt/Comfort, maybe more, I don't know yet.**

 _ **Warnings:**_ **Language, spoilers for Naruto and Harry Potter, mentions of mistreatment of children, Motivated!Shikamaru, SPOILERS FOR NARUTO AND HARRY POTTER,** **warnings are individual per chapter, might change next chapter or might not** **. No slash or yaoi, yuri, Shounen Ai, or Shōjo Ai.**

 _ **Pairings:**_ **As far as romance goes, it's canon for both series.**

 **Friendship!Shikamaru/Harry &Ron&Hermione&Neville&Fred&George. I might add more later, if I think of it.**

 _ **Disclaimer:**_ **Don't own either, wish I did though.**

"Speech"

' _Thoughts'_

 _Emphasis on words_

 **(#) Number to indicate small cliff note**

Regular text

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 **Edit 10/7/16: Re-written version, entirely re-written. Changes will be on the latest chapter when it comes out for those of you who don't want to re-read.**

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 **A Shadow in Wizard's Robes Chapter 1: Magic? Troublesome.**

 **By: AngelicSilverWolf**

" _Here you leave today and enter the world of yesterday, tomorrow, and fantasy."_

― _Walt Disney Company_

* * *

Shikamaru was rudely interrupted from his reading by the opening of a door, and the beginning of a sentence.

"Er…" someone started to say. He looked up from his thick encyclopedia of magical animals to see a boy with black hair and almost startling green eyes. "Hi, I'm Harry. Can I sit here?" the boy asked. Well, he didn't seem bereft of manners like some others on the train, so he didn't mind.

"Shikamaru, go ahead," he replied easily. Harry plopped down in his seat, and Shikamaru returned to his book.

Being in this new world since birth had thankfully let him adjust to the enormous cultural change, but the magical portion of it all was still being processed. He'd discovered his abilities when he was fairly young, but hadn't learned much about them until he'd gotten the letter to Hogwarts. At least his orphanage was connected to the magical world; otherwise his introduction to the whole subject in general could have been a lot worse.

As it was, the non-magical people of the orphanage (which was quite a large percentage of it considering the majority of the adults were squibs or people related to muggle-born wizards and witches, and the children were mostly non-magical despite the war a decade ago) explained the bare minimum of what it meant to go to a prestigious boarding school like Hogwarts, and how he should have been honored to be accepted even if he didn't deserve it.

Honestly.

The people that ran his orphanage needed serious help. He'd had toddlers do better when trying to bring down his self esteem. Which actually probably said a lot more about the toddlers than it did the adults, but.

And in the brief interlude between the arrival of the letter and his trip to the train station, Shikamaru had gathered all kinds of information on the Wizarding world that he hadn't been previously told. Maybe, if he'd had parents that had kept him, things would have gone differently. He probably would have been spoken to personally by a school staff member, if his parents had been muggles. Or, he would have learned from birth what he had flowing through his veins – magic, curiously enough, was a different sort of energy from chakra, based more on the spiritual side of the body as opposed to being equal – and he wouldn't have had to scramble for whatever he could learn from books, of all things.

He'd never been the bookish type as a child in Konoha, usually choosing to nap or play strategy games. Unfortunately, here? It was kind of a necessity since no one around him would or could tell him what he needed to know.

So, it was from books that he discovered that wizards were so far behind in technology and social hierarchy that they used letters to contact each other, had Noble Houses that were equivalent to lords and ladies, and had divisions between them so deep that Shikamaru was sure it was just a matter of pride and ignorance instead of legitimate grievances. It was like they had been stuck in a time warp where time stood still and the wizards didn't change.

They wore _robes_ and _pointed hats_. So, maybe the stereotypes weren't so far off after all. And, he really, really had nothing better to so anyway since the other children didn't like to talk to him and just didn't like him, and with some rather severe insomnia that made it hard to sleep, and nightmares when he did sleep, books were an easy solution to fill up his time. And he, with his excellent memory, absorbed the information like a sponge with a vigor he'd never had before.

Anyway, Shikamaru just was here at this school to fulfill his mission (given to him during the meeting with the mysterious bastard who had planted him here in the first place, with the order to "Make stuff better," whatever the hell that meant), and to learn magic. That was it. He wasn't going to get involved in politics or whatever idiotic feuds that were happening between the houses of the school, and he refused to make magic his life. He would certainly adhere to the Statue of Secrecy, but he wasn't planning on having his head stuck in the tiny hole that was magic's circumference.

He'd get into Gryffindor, since he'd researched the houses and decided that Slytherin was too close to those politics he wanted to avoid, Hufflepuff was nice but he wasn't a people person – and they seemed like they would be friendly to literally everyone, and Ravenclaw placed far too much value on books. Books were good for information, but he didn't want to hang around socially stunted kids that believed everything they read at face-value (which was why he'd also visited the Wizarding community in his free time not spent reading, just for another information source besides books). So, Gryffindor it was. He'd always liked loyalty as a trait in people anyway.

The door opened again, causing his eyes to lift while his head stayed buried in his book – Japanese, of course. Though, the large picture of a centaur facing off against a werewolf on the front was probably an indicator of what he was reading about.

In came a somewhat pale redhead with freckles painted across his face.

"Can I sit here? Everywhere else is full," he mumbled. Harry nodded and Shikamaru shrugged his consent. He might have made a crack at how they were treating it like private property, but they were young and nervous so he let them be. Chōji had blamed his growing mischievousness on Naruto, but they both knew he'd always had it since childhood. He swore it was in the genes from his mother's side.

"I'm Ron Weasley," the redhead introduced.

"Shikamaru," Shikamaru replied absently.

"Harry Potter," Harry concluded. Ron gaped in surprise, and Shikamaru set his book down so that it lay flat against his lap. Harry Potter. Where had he heard that name before? Oh, yes, now he knew. He reached his conclusion just as Ron spoke.

"Are you really?" the latter asked in amazement. Harry looked taken aback; rather a reasonable reaction to having his identity questioned in Shikamaru's private opinion.

"I've heard that name before," Shikamaru said slowly, trying to drain the tension. His social skills were a work in progress, so if this went sideways, he refused to claim responsibility. Both pairs of eyes turned to him. Ron looked slightly dazed and Harry looked apprehensive. Probably had already been subjected to public displays of awe, poor boy. Well, especially if that was the case, he'd have to change both of those. Hero worship never did anyone any good in his experience. "Are you famous?" he asked curiously, causing Ron's awed expression to change into incredulous disbelief and Harry's to relief.

"Yeah he is – don't you know who Harry Potter is?" Ron demanded. Well, just to rile him up… (Because of course he knew who Harry Potter was, he hadn't been living under a rock. Though he did have to wonder how he missed the scar. Troubling times were ahead if he couldn't notice even that. It was like missing a sign on the road, possibly an incredibly important factor on where he ended up.)

"I know who Harry Potter is," Shikamaru replied dryly. "He's the boy who will be attending Hogwarts with me, and who came in and asked for a seat. Though, I do recognize his name and face. Maybe he just has one of those really common names." **(1)**

Ron face-palmed and Harry grinned. Good. Tension gone.

"Unbelievable," Ron said while shaking his head. Before he could say any more, two redheads poked into their compartment.

"Hey, Ron," they said in tandem. Oh, lord help him, they were _twins_. Shikamaru had dealt with twins exactly once in Konoha, and the experience had left him rather scarred. Two words, Naruto wannabes (and no words for how mentally exhausting that made him feel, just _thinking_ about the two kids who'd adored their Hokage so much they'd tried to copy his every move. From prank to jutsu, to orange jumpsuit. Those poor, poor ANBU, may their innocence rest in peace).

"Listen, we're going down the middle of the train – Lee Jordan's got a giant tarantula down there," one informed their brother, interrupting Shikamaru's inner reminiscing.

"Uh huh," Ron muttered. He didn't look pleased – either about the spider or the other person, and if the other person was like Rock Lee in any way…well, Shikamaru had been practicing his stealth skills, magical and otherwise.

"Harry," the other twin said, because they apparently knew the boy, "did we ever introduce ourselves? No? Fred and George Weasley, at your service. This is Ron, our brother – not that you probably can't tell, between the hair and freckles. Oh, and who's reading about…werewolves? Wow, really ahead there."

"Shikamaru," he said briefly. He was really straining his (imaginary) daily word quota today and he thought it best to tone down the talking a bit. After waiting to see if he would give his surname – he didn't – the twins left with a farewell.

"So, Harry Potter," Ron said thoughtfully. For the love of—Shikamaru thought they'd gotten past this already. Harry just nodded.

"Have you…have you really got the – you know." Ron gestured to his head. Harry, quite patiently considering the circumstances, pulled back his bangs to reveal the famous lightning scar. Ron stared. And stared some more. And stared some—oh, for the sake of Shikamaru's increasingly limited patience-

"Nice scar you got there," he said casually. Out of character for him to initiate a conversation or tease someone he just met, but hey, new life, new person, right? There was probably a saying like that somewhere. "Is it real?"

It was his turn to be stared at, by both boys. It wasn't the most pleasant experience ever. He'd only asked a simple question.

"You've got to be kidding me," Ron said flatly. "There's no way you can't know—even my old aunt knows about Harry, and she's batty!" Quick slang translation: and, crazy.

"I grew up around non-magicals for the most part." Shikamaru shrugged indifferently. Harry, for some reason, looked intensely relieved at this. Then his face fell slightly when Shikamaru added, "And it's for that reason that this past summer I mostly just studied to understand the Wizarding world."

"You _studied_?" Now Ron was looking at him like _he_ was the 'batty' one.

"Yeah. Learned a whole lot about Wizarding culture and uninteresting things like that," Shikamaru said with a nod. Of course, the fact that he also looked ahead, practiced some spells since the read-about Under Age Magic prohibition didn't really come into effect until after the first year of Hogwarts (and that rule made no sense whatsoever, but go government!), and memorized his books wasn't mentioned as the redhead was looking incredulous enough.

And, before there could be any questioning of his (admittedly somewhat questionable) sanity, he turned the conversation to a safer topic. Well, for him anyway. Harry was on his own with the inquisitive boy. "So, you have twin brothers?" he asked Ron.

Ron nodded. "Yeah, I also got another three older brothers and a younger sister." he said. He seemed depressed about this for some reason - maybe expectations or something. But, he brightened up again when Harry started asking questions, and Shikamaru returned his attention to his neglected book, satisfied.

When the food cart arrived some time later, Shikamaru bought exactly one Cauldron Cake and one Chocolate Frog. Never one that was overly fond of sweets, and having eaten just before he left for the train station (bought at a café with his carefully budgeted out job-money since the orphanage had punished him again for 'acting out'), he wasn't very hungry. Harry, it seemed, was incredibly hungry, if his armfuls – that's right, multiple loads of food were bought – of sweets and snacks was any indicator. At least he wasn't stingy with his stuff. Hopefully that didn't just apply to the food.

Shikamaru returned to his book, tuning out the conversation between the two boys with practiced ease. If he could ignore a teenaged Naruto on a sugar/ramen high, he could ignore _anyone_. He was interrupted again – this was becoming a disturbing trend – by a knock on the door. Oh, well, at least they were polite, unlike the others who just barged right in. These things really needed locks, and wizards were in desperate need of being taught a little thing called 'manners'.

In came a round-faced boy with a tearful look in his eyes. Shikamaru was reminded instantly of Chōji in his much younger days minus the visible food obsession.

"Sorry, but have any of you seen a toad?" he asked shyly. All three of them shook his heads, causing him to droop sadly. "I've lost him! He keeps getting away when I'm not looking!"

"He'll turn up," Harry said, trying to be encouraging.

"Yes, I guess," the boy said miserably, clearly Harry's methods hadn't worked. "Well, if you do see him…" He left with a sniff. Shikamaru stared at his book thoughtfully while Ron talked about his rat. Maybe he could make friends with the boy…? He didn't know, he'd see. It rather depended on house placement, despite his disinterest in house boundaries. People were people wherever he went, and that meant they came up with ridiculous fences between themselves according to what was acceptable in society.

Damn sheep.

" _Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow,_

 _Turn this stupid, fat rat yellow."_

Shikamaru came back to himself to see Ron fail spectacularly at a spell. And – when had that girl joined them? He should really work on his observational skills, they were clearly lacking if an entire person had slipped his notice.

"Are you sure that's a real spell?" she asked, with rather justifiable confusion. "It isn't very good if it is. I've practiced a few myself."

She then started to talk about books that featured Harry, who looked bemused by the entire thing let alone the fact that he had multiple untrue books about his life story, but Shikamaru just ignored her, only paying the slightest of attention when she mentioned her name. Hermione Granger. Shakespeare, huh? Shikamaru had read some of his stuff, but…rather depressing for him. And considering that he was a realist with some cynical views, that was saying something.

Soon, thankfully, she left, leaving behind a stunned Ron and Harry.

"Whatever house she's in, I hope I'm not in it," Ron muttered fervently. Harry nodded. Shikamaru looked at the latter, and then abruptly extended his hand. Harry blinked in confusion.

"I can fix your glasses," Shikamaru explained. Harry blinked again, but shrugged and handed them over. With a quick tap with his wand - ten and three quarters of African Blackwood with a dragon heartstring - and a mutter, the glasses were repaired. He gave them back in pristine condition, accepting the gratitude with a nod, and then decided to read his book and ignore any further interruptions, hoping the universe would allow him to finish unhindered. And it would have worked, but the next people who entered the compartment were quite loud about it.

As soon as Shikamaru laid eyes on him, he knew he was an aristocrat's son. Whether it was the way he carried himself or how he kept his face distantly cool, he was certainly of nobility.

"Draco Malfoy," the blond boy introduced himself. Before Shikamaru could warn him not to, Ron snickered. "Think my name's funny, do you?" Malfoy snapped. "No need to ask who you are, red hair and freckles, you're a Weasley."

And honestly, if Shikamaru was going to be friends with Ron – and he probably was – then he didn't want to have to deal with this kind of rivalry born from petty insults, so against his better judgment, he spoke up.

"He wasn't laughing at your name, per say," he said, interrupting Malfoy's next statement. "He was just being immature and he's on a mild sugar high."

Ron gave a betrayed splutter, and Malfoy eyed him suspiciously. Ah, nothing like a rich kid that relied on Daddy.

"Who are you?" he asked, and it would have been rude but it was too…elegant. Those lessons probably paid off then – Shikamaru wondered if wizards had therapy.

Probably not.

"Shikamaru," he said courteously. He didn't extend his hand, because not only was that at least five different opportunities for someone to hurt/disable him, but he didn't think Malfoy would shake it anyway.

"What's your last name? It's not polite to hold it back," Malfoy said imperiously, having forgotten about Ron and Harry for the moment. Shikamaru shook his head. Thank the stupid stars he remembered his head-of-the-clan-now-act-like-it training from hell.

"You, in fact, never introduced yourself to me, but to Harry and – sort of – Ron. Therefore, I am entirely in my rights to keep my heritage to myself. You are being discourteous by not introducing yourself to me, even though I extended you that honor," Shikamaru rebutted politely. He'd forgotten how tedious things like formal greetings could be. He generally tried to toe the line between eloquently learned and insufferably pompous. So far, he'd come off as educated yet not arrogant or above his status – the latter of which was somewhat nonexistent in this world.

It at least served the purpose of keeping Ron from saying anything further to harm this meeting's direction, and even Malfoy's…friends were looking sufficiently surprised. Malfoy himself had a pale eyebrow raised, which he quickly lowered.

"Forgive me, I was not thinking," he said, as he would to an echelon of equal or higher status. "I am Draco Malfoy, son of Lucius Malfoy." He went to extend his hand, and then seemed to think better of it and kept it to himself. Smart boy. Rough around the edges, perhaps, but could undoubtedly grow into a refined noble.

"It is nice to make your acquaintance," Shikamaru said, inclining his head graciously. "As a Malfoy, do you plan on going to Slytherin?" Those history books had been filled it the brim with pure-blood stories, it had taken over a dozen not to find any filled with worship or fearful scrawls of the pure-blooded side.

Malfoy looked pleased at the inquiry.

"Of course," he said almost dramatically. "Malfoys go nowhere else then such an esteemed house."

"If that's what suits you," Shikamaru said agreeably. "I hope to go to Gryffindor. Never one for politics, people or academics alone, I find that the house of lions will probably suit me most."

Malfoy clearly wanted to protest this, but something must have told him that Shikamaru wouldn't be changing his mind any time soon.

"I don't know if you can request which house you go to, and I don't understand your desire for the…brashest house of Hogwarts, but I hope to meet you again when we're there," he said with surprising diplomacy. He wasn't so bad once you got back the slight complex he had with his name. Shikamaru just nodded, a practiced dismissal learned from years as head of the Nara clan. The three probable future Slytherins departed without another word, leaving Shikamaru to be stared at by his two companions.

He sighed. He was _never_ going to finish his book at this rate.

…

* * *

"Nara Shikamaru," Professor McGonagall called out. Shikamaru strode forward with a lazy expression that made the majority of the children behind him incredulous. As soon as he sat on the stool and placed the hat on his head, a voice spoke in his ear.

" _Hello there,"_ the hat said. Shikamaru only just prevented himself from recoiling in hard-wired self defensive reflexes. _"There are certain…barriers around your mind that even I can't breach. Would you care to lower those?"_

"Not really," Shikamaru replied a little stiffly. "I know where I want to go."

" _Ah, decisive. From what little I've gleaned, you can go to any of the houses. A loyalty to friends that Helga herself would admire, brains that would make any Ravenclaw jealous, cunning that would enable fast connections in Slytherin-"_ the hat rattled off, when Shikamaru interrupted him.

"And idiotic bravery for when it counts that would make the entire Gryffindor house roar in approval. I know my traits," he said a little flatly. Excuse him for being uncomfortable with another presence in his head. Thank God that Ino saw fit to teach him advanced mental blocks.

" _Ah, yes,"_ the hat replied in amusement. _"Not to mention your dry belligerence."_ The hat sighed. _"Well, with your defiant attitude and determination not to do things the traditional way, I suppose there's only one place for you. Better be_ GRYFFINDOR!"

Shikamaru's eyebrow twitched at the volume before he took the hat off of his head and set it none too gently back on the stool. The Sorting Hat's chuckles followed him to the cheering table, where there were... three redheads that looked vaguely similar in looks. Ron wasn't kidding about his big family. His poor mother - six boys at once. He nodded at Fred and George and then sat down.

He watched the rest of the procession with slight interest, instead finding much more with which to occupy his time to study the school and staff with which he would be for the next seven years of his life. He was only roused from his observing when Harry's name was called. The other boy was up there for quite some time before the hat screamed Gryffindor, and he sat down next to Shikamaru amidst the loud cheering.

"It couldn't decide where to put me," Harry muttered in answer to his friend's raised eyebrow. "Eventually just chose Gryffindor." Shikamaru nodded in understanding. They watched with the rest of the house as the other first years were sorted, feeling a mix of resignation and dread for Hermione, pleasantly surprised with Neville, and glad about Ron. Then, after some greeting words from the headmaster, there came the food.

Never, in either of his lives, had Shikamaru seen so much food in one place. And that was just this table alone. Golden plate after golden plate filled with food, from vegetables to gravies to heavenly smelling meat. He did notice, wryly, the lack of foreign food, and was amused to think about Naruto's reaction to the utter non being of ramen.

Ninja training included moderation for an underfed body, usually for torture recovery instead of children who weren't given enough, but the idea was the same. Slow eating, small portions, nothing too rich or flavorful, carbs and protein to build up healthy fat and muscle. He wanted to try everything but restrained himself, he would be here for the next year, after all. And six more after that. Plenty of time to taste the cuisine.

"That does look rather good," someone said from behind his shoulder. He didn't startle or draw any of his numerous hidden weapons (gifted via blood seals that being who'd planted him here had drawn on his arms, disturbing to think about where the blood was from but at least they were invisible until activated) but it was a near thing. In his other life, he would have. This body's reactions were too soft. He did slowly turn his head, and saw a ghost looking rather mournfully at the steak Harry was eating.

The boy in question gestured to his food. "Can't you…?" he asked. The ghost shook his head.

"I haven't been able to eat for centuries. I don't need to, of course, but one does miss it…" He drew himself up a little importantly. "I must introduce myself. Sir Nicholas de Mimsy Porpington at your service." Why did everyone say that here? Service was something rather valuable to offer. Shikamaru certainly wouldn't have.

"I know you!" someone said. "My brothers told me, you're Nearly Headless Nick!" Ah, that was Ron. Sir Nicholas looked seemed to get stiffer - it was hard to tell with transparent bodies.

"I'd prefer you call me Sir Nicholas de Mim-" he began, when someone else interrupted him. And also, Shikamaru refused to use such a long name. Way too much trouble. Even the daimyos hadn't had long titles, just fancy ones.

"Nearly headless? How can you be _nearly_ headless?" a boy with sandy hair that Shikamaru vaguely remembered to be Seamus something-or-other asked. Sir Nicholas looked extremely irritated.

"Like _this_ ," he snapped, and then unhinged his head until it hung on his shoulder like a demented doll head that hadn't been glued on right. Well, that was something new. Shikamaru had seen many things, but a beheading gone wrong? Shinobi were too precise for that. But, wait there was that bandit trio...did it count if the head only stuck on because of a seal?

Either way, the ghost looked pleased at the disgusted and amazed expressions as he floated away. Shikamaru remembered his priorities and returned to his food, even as the conversation turned to heritage. Quite a few half-bloods, a couple pure-bloods and a few muggle-borns thrown into the mix. Then, Neville started on his magic discovering story straight out of a bizarre court case, eliciting some laughs and some horrified looks from the muggle-borns. Apparently Shikamaru wasn't the only one who found multiple things wrong with how his relatives went about discovering their son wasn't a squib.

No one said anything though, even Hermione, who looked extremely troublesome. Perhaps they all senses the normalcy in Neville's tone and how the other children who'd lived with magical parents didn't react, though if that didn't say something about the state of society, Shikamaru didn't know what did.

When every dish was gone from both courses, the headmaster stood up and said, "And now that we're all fed and watered, before we turn in, we shall sing the school song."

What.

No. Just...no. Shikamaru had willingly sung exactly once in both of his lives - for his son's first birthday - and he would be damned if this school tried to make him break that record. Therefore, he tapped out the lyrics in Morse code with his fingers, garnering odd looks, but didn't sing like mostly everyone else. The head of Slytherin, some Slytherin students he didn't know, and himself were the only ones who didn't sing. When it was over, and he was relieved to find out from an upper classman they didn't do this with every meal, just the first one, they were dismissed to their common rooms.

Shikamaru had to give credit to whoever had built the castle, it was large enough for the students to move around comfortably and for the various classes it offered, and its unique floor plans made defense easier in case of attack. Maybe that was just his standpoint, and the people who'd made it hadn't been thinking about tactical advantage, but it was still a nice bonus. They reached their portrait, a large lady in a pink dress, a prefect gave the password, and then they were inside. It was...roomy.

It already had a nice fire going, probably courtesy of the many house-elves that resided here, and it seemed like a nice place to do homework or causally talk with friends. So different from the dungeons of the Slytherins, or even the Ravenclaw Tower. The first year boys were directed up one set of stairs, and when they reached the beds, Shikamaru immediately went for the one farthest from the door, coincidentally ending up next to Harry.

He went about keeping up the appearance that he was getting ready to sleep like his roommates, noting a feather belonging to his owl sitting on his trunk, changing clothes and making sure his holsters were being kept out of sight. He had a wand holster, old and beaten from a third-hand shop, for his right arm - two kunai holsters, on for his left arm and one on his waist - a senbon holder that was around his right leg - a shuriken container at his waist, sheathes for a pair of chakra blades at his forearms and a sheath for his tantō at his left hip (all of which had arrived with him in this new world), concealed with a small invisibility enchantment that he'd managed to get someone to do before he came to the school.

He kept his senbon holder around his leg, and wand and kunai holster around his arm, but discreetly sealed the rest into the four blood seals on his arms. The markings of the seals wouldn't disappear for another hour or so, but if he kept his bed curtains in use and didn't show the underside of his arm, he wouldn't be getting dragged to Professor McGonagall for tattoos. He bade a goodnight to the others, and then settled down with his book from the train - the one he'd never gotten to finish.

Shikamaru had this little thing called insomnia.

It was common in his clan, kind of hereditary, and while he knew it normally didn't work that way, there was just something in the controlling of Yin chakra to make sure it didn't lash out and kill everything in a mile radius that made deep sleep hard to achieve, made more so the stronger a person was, thus the naps on all sides.

Add that to the ninja problems of new environment plus next to no knowledge of guaranteed personal safety equaled one sleepless Nara. In the orphanage, it had been more of a fact that he didn't feel safe at all in the building, helped by the fact that he was in the attic and had been for years. Here, it was just strange being with people again after so long, and he wasn't tired anyway.

He'd nap during the next day anyway. Naras usually managed about four hours of sleep, and then seven or eight hours in nap time, if not all at once, nine if they were lucky. With missions, that number cut down to anywhere between zero to four. Somehow, he thought he probably wouldn't be getting very much napping done in a school full of children learning magic. **(2)**

Troublesome, thy name was Life.

…

* * *

One thing that rather annoyed Shikamaru about the Hogwarts castle, well, two things really, was the unbearable amount of _stairs_ it had (would it have killed them to install the wizard equivalent of an elevator? For people who pushed reliance on wands to save the day, they were really exercising their students and building up lacking stamina), and the fact that his two friends were absolutely incapable of directing themselves to their classes. So, maybe not the castle's fault, but he couldn't shake the feeling that it had been designed that way on purpose.

It was because of this un-present sense of direction that Shikamaru spent his first day leading his hopeless friends around the castle, having taken in a decent amount from the previous trip to the common room, and using common sense and asking directions for what he didn't know. It was thanks to his efforts, exasperated as they might have been that he, Harry and Ron got to their classes on time. The classes themselves were something like what he'd hypothesized they'd be from his observations of the teachers the previous night.

While disappointed that the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher didn't take his own subject very seriously - the man seemed to be afraid of it for the Shodai's sake - he hadn't seen anything outstandingly brave or impressive from the man the previous night, so it wasn't a total surprise. The feeling of something being...off about the man had him on his guard during the duration of class, even if Professor Quirrell had stuttered his way through his introduction. He was looking underneath the underneath, as Kakashi had been so fond of saying, and the very most underneath was telling him that something was wrong with the man.

Transfiguration was much like the teacher - straightforward, strict in ruling, and not to be played with. The very first lesson included a sharp dressing down, and the turning of a desk into a pig. He came to the conclusion that this would be a class in which not to fall asleep, for fear of waking up looking different than when he came in, whether from punishment from the teacher or a stray hit from a classmate had yet to be determined.

And, Potions was another class in which resting wouldn't be an option. Not only was Professor Snape incredibly sharp, but he didn't seem to be overly fond of Gryffindors, or people in general really, especially Harry. Now, Shikamaru knew deep-seated loathing when he saw it, and it rather unnerved him to see it directed at someone like Harry.

Maybe Ron was a little reasonable, because the redhead could rub people the wrong way with his temper, but Harry hadn't done anything to warrant the interrogation-like questioning and deduction of points. While two points wasn't a lot in the long run, to a somewhat insecure first year on the first day of school, in front of all of his friends and housemates, that was going a bit overboard. Shikamaru didn't say anything though, knowing better than to challenge the man in his own class.

Thankfully they were assigned partners and a potion not long after the grilling, with Shikamaru ending up with Neville. Five seconds in, and he knew it was going to be a lot more challenging than he first thought. At least he wouldn't be bored, he thought wryly as he stopped Neville from putting in the wrong ingredient for the fifth time. And, it was a good thing he'd had the foresight to memorize the recipe, otherwise this would probably be hazardous to his health. He was so caught up in making sure the potion didn't explode in his face and cause an unfortunate number of boils that missed his professor's appearance behind him until a cold voice interrupted him.

"Mister Nara, what are you doing?"

Shikamaru almost pulled out his wand. Almost. And, his other weapons, but thankfully Neville's frightened squeak let him relax just the smallest bit. His voice was perfectly respectful when it came out. "Making my potion, Professor." His reply? Not so much. His friend's horrified and shocked faces let him know that the Potions Master probably wasn't pleased. He craned his head to see Professor Snape giving him a rather unpleasant glare. Then, a movement in the corner of his eye had him snapping his hand out to catch the porcupine quill Neville dropped in terror, just barely catching it before it touched the surface of the potion.

He sighed in relief. That would have been an explosive disaster. He placed the quill on the table, and when he looked at his professor again, he was being given an appraising look instead of an outright glare.

"You're not following the instructions on the board," the man said, eyes resting briefly on the quill. The meaning behind his action hadn't gone unnoticed. Shikamaru turned and saw that he had indeed differed from the process on the board. Truth be told, he hadn't even looked at the thing except for once at the beginning to see what they were brewing.

"I created my own version and memorized it," he replied, wondering if this would be a problem since he'd sort of done it for all of the potions in his book. They were mostly untested, but in theory, they should be sound. Better, even, than some of the recipes, but certainly cheaper. Substitutes could create potions just as good as the originals, it turned out. "I'm sorry, sir, is there a problem?" he asked. He hadn't meant it to sound belligerent, but it apparently did if the gasps meant anything.

Fortunately, those gasps also served to remind Professor Snape that they had an audience. He whirled around, cloak flaring about him. "Get back to work, unless you've all memorized it as well," he ordered coldly. They hurried to do so under his intimidating eyes. He turned back to Shikamaru, meeting his gaze.

Immediately, the latter felt a mental probe carefully touch his mind. Instead of raising suspicions as to his mental fortitude, Shikamaru guided him around a few memories of the orphanage and Harry looking not so...Gryffindorish, and then promptly booted him out with a wince that wasn't entirely fake as Neville dropped a rather heavy bottle on his hand. The professor's eyes were considering as he finally turned to go back to his desk, while a headache started up behind Shikamaru's eyes.

He'd forgotten how taxing parrying mental attacks could be if he hadn't been working on his defenses like he should have. A stupid mistake. Thankfully the rest of the class went peacefully, him and Neville working a partnership that didn't result in exploding or melting cauldrons. When it was finished, he bottled up some to hand in for inspection, and then another vial for himself, for later. When he pulled out the small case full of different potions from the book bag made of moleskin and opened it, there was a gasp from behind him.

"Did you make all of these?" Hermione asked, pointing to the ten or so potions in the case. Shikamaru nodded absently as he carefully put in the Cure for Boils. "How? Some of these look really advanced!"

"I read ahead," he told her dryly. He'd make a label for the potion later, when there weren't so many eyes on him.

"And what language is this? Chinese?" she asked, noticing the characters on neat labels below each bottle.

"Close. Japanese," he said, pulling out a book for the last ten minutes of class. Apparently she didn't understand that this usually signaled the end of a conversation, for she kept talking.

"So, you're a native speaker, then? You must be," she mused. "Do you know any other languages? I bet it's dead useful, being bi-lingual. I wanted to try learning French, but no one I know can speak it so I couldn't. How did you learn English? Were you born in Japan? Or did you learn it at home from your parents?"

Shikamaru didn't know which question to answer first, and ordinarily he might have just ignored her until she got the hint, but his headache was rapidly increasing in strength. It was a little amazing how she could make him want to find the nearest tower and jump off, but then again, she had nothing on Ino's rants when was worrying about her clothes **(3)**.

Thankfully the ringing of the school bell had him moving with the rest of the class and away from her questions, and the fact that he'd left her mid-question didn't make him feel guilty anymore. She'd have to learn eventually that people wouldn't just stand still and take being talked _at_ instead of talked _to_. On the way to lunch, however, he noticed Harry's downcast disposition.

"What's up?" he asked, nudging the latter's arm. Harry looked up with a slight frown.

"Nothing, it's just, Professor Snape seemed to really hate me," he said slowly. Shikamaru nodded.

"Seems like it," he agreed. Then he yawned. At least his headache was finally receding. "What?" he asked at Harry's surprised look.

"I thought you'd tell me I was imagining it or something," the latter confessed. Shikamaru shook his head.

"Nah. I know the difference between general and pointed dislike. He definitely doesn't like you for something," he said. "I might be lazy, but I can read people decently." Harry looked considering when they split up, Ron and Harry going to meet Hagrid, and Shikamaru back to the Common Room, which was far better than depressed.

On his way back, he met a group of Ravenclaw fourth or fifth years circling something. Curious, he ventured closer, and then stopped short when he saw the situation. Four of the older Ravenclaws had surrounded three Slytherin first years. He recognized Theodore Nott, Blaise Zabini and Millicent Bulstrode from his Potions class.

"-stupid Slytherin first years, think you're so smart," one Ravenclaw sneered. Shikamaru was surprised at the animosity in that expression - wasn't Hogwarts supposed to be against this sort of thing?

"No, that's your job," Blaise drawled, dark eyes narrowed. "And you're doing a wonderful job displaying your awe inspiring intelligence."

Weren't Slytherins supposed to have self-preservation instincts? But, enough of that, because that particular Ravenclaw was looking dangerously close to braining the first year with the book in his hand.

"Oi," Shikamaru called out, internally sighing. He disliked bullies more than many things, mainly because Naruto and Chōji had suffered so many of them when they were younger, but also because he found them to be cowards who tried to pick on others to make themselves feel better. This coming from the one who used to refer to himself as the 'number one person at running away' too.

"What do you want?" a Ravenclaw snapped. The Slytherins were giving him wary and intrigued looks.

"Well, not that it's really my business, but I couldn't help but notice the unfairness of this situation," Shikamaru said. "But, do three Slytherin first years equal four Ravenclaw fifth years? Is that something I'm not aware of?"

The Ravenclaws spluttered in indignation.

"Wait just a minute," one started, and Shikamaru had his wand out and pointing between his eyes, causing him to halt and try to retreat instinctively.

"You don't know how to use that! Put it down before you hurt yourself," a different Ravenclaw said impatiently. Shikamaru let his eyes narrow and some of his own impatience colored his tone.

"I know what this can do better than you can, probably. Want to guess what spell I'll use first?" he asked dangerously calm, letting a small amount of killing intent surround the older people. It was enough to make them blanch. They bravely drew their wands.

"We'll see, first year," one said with fake bravado, watching him with unnerved eyes. Before any spells could be thrown, a dangerously silky voice echoed.

"What is happening here?" Professor Snape asked. All eyes went to him in silence, horrified on some parts, relieved on others. "I believe I asked a question," he said, when there was no answer forthcoming.

"This first year-" one Ravenclaw started, when he held up his hand.

"I won't ask the person who was pointing a wand at someone younger than him," the man said coolly. "Zabini, what happened?"

"These guys accosted us in the hall, Professor," Blaise said promptly. "Said something about an induction to make sure we knew our place. Would have been worse, but Nara here interfered and was about to start a duel." A grin split his face. "I think he might have won too, if you hadn't arrived when you did."

Professor Snape surveyed the gathered crowd.

"All of you, back to your tower. I'll be having words with Professor Flitwick, because I know he personally detests this kind of behavior. If he doesn't punish you, _I_ will so you'd best hope he does," he ordered. They wasted no time in leaving, hurrying to get away from the glowering professor. He dismissed them from thought and turned to those of his house. "Are any of you in need of the Hospital Wing?" he asked.

They all shook their head. "Good, get back to the common room." They left, shooting Shikamaru curious glances as they left. "Mister Nara, why did you interfere instead of getting a teacher?" he asked when they were alone.

Shikamaru shrugged. "I don't know. Those types of people are all bark, Professor. They might know theory, but their practice is lacking. Besides, a duel would have drawn attention anyway, and I wasn't going to leave those guys alone with three students younger than them, looking on the verge of throwing a punch."

Professor Snape studied him, and then nodded. "You have my gratitude for stepping in, but next time, try to get an adult," he said. Shikamaru nodded.

"Of course." Not that he meant it. Then, he bowed slightly and turned and left.

Well, if all fights were that easy, maybe Hogwarts wouldn't be too bad after all.

* * *

 **(1): Ha, sorry, I can just picture Shikamaru f**king around with these two.** **And my friend said I should try and limit the visible swearing, but it's a work in progress, like Shikamaru's social skills.**

 **(2): Not cannon, but I wanted to give him an excuse for the napping besides just laziness, because somehow, I can't see that in a militaristic society.**

 **(3): No, I'm not bashing her, but Hermione can be very nosey, as seen multiple times in the books. Besides, Shikamaru had to deal with Ino in full on 'fangirl' mode. Hermione isn't really that bad when you think about it and he knows it.**

* * *

 **A/N: So, how was it? I've re-written this to hopefully make Shikamaru a little less OOC than before, and also more mature, for those of you who've read this already. I replaced the interaction with Fred and George because the Slytherin interaction in later chapters sort of flew out of the left field from nowhere, so yeah. They'll come later though. Sorry for my absence and the changes, but yeah. For the full list, check the latest chapter when it comes out, which might be a while. Please review!**


	2. Chapter 2: The Key to Motivation

**A/N: I'm moving guest review answers for earlier chapters to the updated chapters from the more recent chapters so that they'll correlate appropriately. If the review isn't there in time for the update, I'll just answer it in the next updated chapter and label it as an answer for the actual chapter. Questions? PM me, please.**

 _ **Summary:**_ **Motivated, miffed, and magical, Shikamaru Nara was a force to behold. Whoever had placed him here was going to get it, but first he'd have to get through a school for magic. And he'd thought ninjas could be stupid. Troublesome.**

 _ **Rating:**_ **T, and should stay that way.**

 _ **Genres:**_ **Friendship, Adventure, Hurt/Comfort, maybe more, I don't know yet.**

 _ **Warnings:**_ **Language, mentions of bullying, mentions of mistreatment of children, SPOILERS FOR HARRY POTTER AND NARUTO ,** **warnings are individual per chapter, might change next chapter or might not** **. No slash or yaoi, yuri, shounen ai, shoujo ai, incest, pedophaelia or necrophaelia.**

 _ **Pairings:**_ **As far as romance goes, it's canon for both series. Friendship!Shikamaru/Harry &Ron&Hermione&Neville&Fred&George. Mentorship!Snape/Shikamaru.I might add more later, if I think of it.**

 _ **Disclaimer:**_ **Don't own, never will, either of them would be awesome, but alas there's a reason why I'm writing Fanfiction instead.**

"Speech"

' _Thoughts'_

 _Emphasis on words_

 **(#): A/N to explain something and/or justify something**

Regular text

* * *

 **Shadow in Wizard's Robes Chapter 2: The Key to Motivation**

 **By: AngelicSilverWolf**

' _We were made to be courageous,_

 _And we're taking back the fight._

 _We were made to be courageous,_

 _And it starts tonight with us tonight.' – Casting Crowns_

* * *

 **Age 9: Two years before Hogwarts.**

Shikamaru stopped. Shikamaru stared. No, he wasn't imagining it, his brand new owl was reading.

That was...interesting.

He blinked to make sure he wasn't possibly hallucinating because of sleep deprivation, but the owl was still there. Sitting on his cot. Looking at his book. For all intents and purposes reading.

He sighed and stopped trying to make sense of the world. Hypatia, his Short-eared Owl with intelligent yellow eyes, who was apparently much smarter than he'd given her credit for, seemed almost smug as he lay down on his cot beside her. She acknowledged his presence with a nudge of a brown wing and then returned to her…reading. He'd have to get used to the fact that he'd somehow managed to find a special owl amongst the rest of the already superior animals. It was like Naruto's luck had somehow transferred to him when he crossed dimensions. Somehow that didn't surprise him too much, but he didn't have to like it.

He groaned in time with his stomach at his luck. He had retrieved this particular owl from Diagon Alley just a few days ago, and she had evidently just been waiting until she knew he wouldn't get rid of her before revealing her higher brain functions. He wanted to wonder how that even worked, but decided it would give him a headache to think about. If he let sleeping dogs lie, maybe this wouldn't be too bad. Probably not, but he could dream, right?

His stomach grumbled, reminding him that he hadn't eaten in a good twelve hours, having been deprived of dinner and lunch for misplaced blame - again. At least when everyone was asleep, he could sneak down to the kitchens to grab a sandwich or something. But, then there was the missing food to think about, because the adults were infuriatingly meticulous about food supplies. He could just wait it out and try not to hurt the next kid that came after him.

It wasn't his fault they thought he was an easy target because he was lithe and shorter than most. It was a little bit his fault that he slyly taunted them though (but to be fair they usually really deserved it). The missed meals were almost worth the stupefied looks on their faces when they tried to work out exactly what he was insulting. Almost.

He sighed and turned over to sleep. If he didn't get food the next morning, he'd just go out and buy some for himself. Hurrah for desperation disguised as desire.

…

* * *

 **Present Day:**

"Nice to see you again," he greeted his owl. Hypatia acknowledged him with a flick of her wings, but otherwise kept reading. Well then. He thought he'd taught her better than that. He tweaked a feather in fond annoyance. This time she gave him a slightly reproachful look and turned her back to him as she flipped to the next page. He ignored the attitude that he absolutely didn't deserve and settled down on his bed. It was that free time after lessons but before curfew, where everyone was anywhere else, trying to make up for lost time or finish homework, which meant he was entirely alone in his dorm. Maybe he could catch an hour or two of actual sleep.

It ended up being less conducive to his health, ironically enough.

Duck, kick out, don't touch _, his mind repeated like the life saving mantra it was._

 _War was different and yet so similar to how the books told it. It was violent and full of adrenaline, like in the stories, but they never mentioned the fear. The anger, the rampant emotions in general were too strong for words alone to describe, so maybe that was why authors didn't try. Either way, they also didn't properly convey just how many close calls one person could get into._

 _In the past ten minutes alone, Shikamaru could have died at least five times, if not for his fellow ninja, reflexes, or sheer dumb luck. Good to know._

" _Die, fuckers!" some Sand-nin screamed. Shikamaru shook his head, half in disapproval and half in a dodging maneuver. A great example of how to waste breath, screaming at an enemy that couldn't think for itself._

" _Come on! We need to move!" Ino threw a kunai at a White Zetsu clone in front of them. "Naruto and B-san are waiting!"_

" _Yeah, yeah, woman," he muttered, flinging himself forward with renewed vigor. "I got it."_

 _The dream shifted as they charged, and though he knew this was a memory, it was with a feeling of disconnect, like it had happened to someone else._

The next scene wasn't so distant.

 _Pain, blinding, horrible pain from having his chakra forcibly removed from his body. He thrashed weakly to dislodge the root, but it only tightened in response. This was how he was going to die, by the tree root of an insane god, and while it was very much unacceptable, there wasn't anything he could do because his allies were going through the same thing and he was supposed to be the strategizer_ _ **dammit**_ _-_

It shifted again, back this time.

" _Take care of your mom," Shikaku said, drawling as always, no urgency in his voice even if his death was imminent._

" _Sure." His own voice was choked. He never could completely mimic that uncaring tone in hard situations. His words weren't what he wanted them to be, but they were enough, they had to be, because not fifteen seconds later, the connection was gone and all he could think about in the midst of people depending on him was how fucking_ _ **empty**_ _his mind felt now, even with the link to Ino, who was shaking hard with the loss of her own father, but they had a job to do and they'd damn well ensure the sacrifices were for a purpose._

" _Let's go." His voice was hard and professional, so different than his typical one. He'd mourn later, because now was for ensuring that future generations didn't have to know the world ruled by Sasuke's mad ancestor. "We have to use what they gave us. Let's take this fucker down." He wasn't one for swearing, but this was urgent and he'd never forget himself if he failed and-_

 _He was dying. No chakra, or near to it. Even as his vision spun, he saw the empty eyes of an ally nearby. He didn't know who it was, and he didn't want to know. Familiar green eyes met his._

" _Shikamaru! Eyes on me! Come on, not when we've gotten so far!" Sakura tried, she really did. But, he was fading too fast…_

…

* * *

"Are you okay, Shikamaru?" Harry asked in concern. Shikamaru didn't respond, because he was not, in fact, okay. Not at all. He'd woken up not an hour ago with the lingering feeling of death. Not a nice way to wake up, even if he knew that Sakura had sustained him until a Naruto clone had arrived and helped him out.

But damn had that been too close. Death had brushed its cold fingers just a little too near to him for comfort, so no, he wasn't alright. Upon awakening, he'd checked himself in the nearest mirror to make sure he wasn't withered and decrypt like he could remember being. it had been a relief to see a face too young, because that was infinitely better than seeing a face too old (the mirror had questioned his wellbeing too but he'd ignored it in favor of being glad that he still looked eleven).

Not to mention that he was disoriented because he'd actually managed a full night's sleep by skipping dinner (something that happened about once in a blue moon), only to be woken this morning by someone shuffling around, feeling quite literally like death warmed over. At least he was in the best class to fall asleep in, History of Magic

Fun fact with Yin chakra, it made those nightmares feel a little bit more realistic. A stronger sensation of adrenaline here, a more intense scent there, and he had a recipe for a really shitty dream. Added to the fact that the dream had actually been a sequence of memories, and one had the recipe for a really crap start to the day. This would have been fine if some people had just left him alone. But no. Of course not, because his life was never easy that way. Or, any way, come to think about it.

Harry kept inquiring about his health - and while his heart was probably in the right place, Shikamaru had to wonder why he would keep asking after the fifth time of receiving unencouraging silence as his answer - and Hermione was constantly hissing at him to pay attention because she apparently had nothing to do. At least Ron was helping on that front. He kept telling her to mind her own business. It sort of worked in other classes, but History of Magic was so dull that even she needed something to occupy her time - ironically, this was telling Shikamaru to pay attention was how she did so.

It'd be amusing if it wasn't so damn annoying.

"Are you listening to me?" the focus of his grievances asked.

"Not at all," he answered, voice coming out rougher than he'd expected. Getting a full night's sleep really didn't sit well with him because they usually only happened when he was drugged, injured or having nightmares, sometimes all three simultaneously. He had subconsciously developed a sense of unease and wariness whenever he got too much sleep in one sitting. Hermione puffed up in indignation. Like a turkey. Ha. A really bushy, loud, female turkey (and what were those called? Hens? Meh. Animal expert, right).

"Well," she snapped. "Rude!" From the girl who was bothering someone who was trying to nap. "I was trying to get you to pay attention and take notes." Right. He was sure she was all about those altruistic intentions.

"I know. I'm just ignoring you because I already know what material he's covering," he said candidly through slightly gritted teeth. Then, he stopped, took a breath and forced himself to relax. No need to be rash and do something he'd regret when he wasn't feeling out of sorts. At least this body didn't have the twitchy fingers that his other one did, or she'd probably be some hair short or something. Look, weariness made him less tolerant, it was a fair reaction considering.

"That doesn't make it any less respectful to tune out the teacher," she protested.

"Technically you're not paying attention either since you're talking to me," Shikamaru pointed out, laying his forehead pointedly on his arms. Maybe he should stop engaging with her in argument. She sputtered.

"Look, can - can you just leave it?" Harry interjected, sneaking a look at his friend. "I think he's really tired, so, just lay off a bit." Wow, Shikamaru hadn't heard him talk bluntly like that before. Probably just for friends. He seemed like the type to suffer in silence. He knew the type all too well - he'd have to try and teach him some self-preservation so that he didn't go all stoic and emo and run off with an evil madman, try and kill said evil madman, and run off with another only to come back when that madman tried to resurrect a goddess.

Hm. So maybe he had some lasting issues from Madara, but who wouldn't?

Hermione huffed but reluctantly left Shikamaru alone, to his unending relief.

After class, he was accosted by Harry and Ron.

"So, wanna tell us why you look so bad?" the latter asked.

"Nice, Ron, give it to me straight," Shikamaru said dryly. Ron flushed a little but didn't back down.

"Yeah, seriously, have you not been sleeping or something?" Harry asked. His concerned green eyes unfortunately reminded Shikamaru of a puppy's. All scrunched up and ador-

No. Ninjas didn't use words like 'adorable'. Except for kunoichi and possibly Kakashi when he was being a sarcastic bastard. Great. Now he was insulting his superiors.

"I haven't, really. It's a muggle condition called insomnia that I have that almost guarantees difficulty sleeping for more than...I don't know, I've been averaging three or so hours a night," Shikamaru answered. He knew he'd forgotten something - his basic glamours to make himself look less tired. Harry and Ron looked properly disturbed. It was like they'd never heard of late night vigils or something. He was just constantly living the nightlife of a college student before exams. Without the coffee or the alcohol.

"That's really rare," Hermione said, joining the conversation, because apparently they'd been that loud about it. Or she'd just been hovering about. Probably the more likely explanation. "Don't you have medication for that?"

"Yeah, pills don't really work for me," he said. He wasn't particularly comfortable with chemical compounds that could easily have been mixed wrong, thanks. "Besides, I'm okay with the frequent naps. And, this isn't the typical temporary kind of insomnia. I think it's hereditary, not magic related, and very permanent." Well, even if it was related to Yin chakra, it still counted as hereditary. Ish. "So it's fine, I just slept in a weird position last night." Sort of true. Weird being completely rigid, but details.

They thankfully left it at that, though Hermione looked like she wanted to investigate further, and went through the day with minimal fuss. Thank the Hokage for childish intuition on how far to push.

In the dorm that night, Hypatia was waiting with another book, much to the other boys' bafflement.

"I-is that owl reading?" Seamus muttered. "Or am I seeing things?"

"If you're seeing things, we're all seeing things," Dean said, staring hard at the owl pursuing a large textbook over rodents. Clearly he'd never heard of gas poisoning to sound so dismissive about the possibility of collective hallucinations. Shikamaru strode over to her and ignored their whispers.

"Hypatia, meet my dorm mates. Dorm mates, Hypatia," he introduced. His owl looked up, gave a cursory look and hoot of greeting, and then returned to her book. Little troll - she was pretty great sometimes.

"So. Your owl reads," Ron said as if he wasn't quite sure he could believe it, but wasn't discounting it either because, hey, magical world. Most things were possible. That was pretty similar to his own reaction the first time he'd caught her.

"She's special like that," he agreed. Then he tilted his head to the side to dodge the wing his owl lazily swung at him. "Rude. There was a lifetime warranty on you." An idle threat and they both knew it. He spotted a plain letter on his bed. "What's this?"

"Can she...understand you?" Neville was hesitant, as if afraid of sounding crazy. His unspoken question of whether she talked back hung in the air.

"Most of the time," Shikamaru replied. "She doesn't always respond though." Ha, let them puzzle that out while he read this letter.

The flat and plain lettering alerted him as to who the sender was immediately, but he read anyway. Might as well kill a couple more brain cells - he had plenty to spare.

 _Nara,_

 _Due to your prolonged absence, we shall be giving your leftover items to those who need it more. Stay at your school for holidays, and don't come back expecting the items returned. Do not expect further correspondence, and do not initiate contact with us yourself. After this year, due to the number of jobs you've held steady for the past few years, we will not be paying for your tuition or supplies._

 _The Caretakers._

Well, that was a good deal more professional than he expected from them. Also, longer in coming (he'd maybe been expecting a rant on how many resources they wasted on him the first week at Hogwarts).

He'd left a few old shirts and socks behind that they'd seen fit to bestow on him in their infinite generosity (sarcasm, of course), well aware that they wouldn't be his any longer when he returned. Thus, he'd packed everything else up of value and taken it here. It still rankled that they wouldn't pay, but he hadn't been expecting any less. It was why he'd gotten multiple jobs in the first place. Now he had a nice little egg nest stored up.

He almost scoffed when he saw the note about communicating with them. Really, who did he have to talk to there? And it was like they thought he was a bad influence, like he'd almost gotten the children to revolt against them or something (in his defense, he'd just been on the mend from a sickness and had been so fed up, he'd _slipped_ with the sugar amount in a few kids' drinks. Result: chaos and sheer entertainment for the next six hours straight).

"What's wrong?" Harry asked, noticing Shikamaru's displeasure. Shikamaru just shrugged and let his face revert back to its usual lazy general uncaring expression.

"Nothing, just some confirmation to what I already suspected," he said. Yeah, that the adults of the orphanage weren't fit to care for other people, much less impressionable children. He reached into his trunk, pulled out a box of matches, struck one and proceeded to light the paper on fire. The yelps of surprise didn't deter him, and he waited until the smallest of corners was left before blowing it out and throwing it away. And that was the end of that. He could have used his wand, but there was something satisfying about lighting a match and watching it burn something.

"Don't we have homework to start on?" he asked briskly, and gathered up his pile of parchment and textbooks and marched out, leaving Harry and Ron to scramble after him. He had his books set up and essays out before they even sat down, and when they did, they stared at his work in amazement.  
"Is this Snape's homework?" Ron asked, inspecting the two page essay. "On cauldron types? How'd you write so much? Your writing is _tiny_. And, are these your notes? I have five older brothers, the oldest of whom got all twelve O.W.L.S. and I haven't seen so many notes before." He lifted up the four pages of solid writing with the occasional picture to clear things up. It was written to be easier for a reader besides him, just in case. Years of experience with field reports and boxes in which to fill in not being big enough and people who didn't think like he did helped this process a lot. Not to mention that multiple resources made it easier to get information.

"Those notes are only relevant to this essay. And, I read a lot, among other things. You should try it sometime," Shikamaru said snarkily. And really, those notes were just the the essential information. It was amazing what a culture even so backwards as the wizarding one could convey with hundreds of years of information and experiences. Ron shook his head in frank bewilderment and started on his own, muttering about people with no life.

Rude.

He had a life that revolved around cloud watching, naps, training, occasionally reading and Shoji.

Shikamaru ignored him and started on the Herbology drawing of some plant that vaguely resembled an enormous Venus Flytrap, occasionally helping his friends with their work. About twenty minutes in, Shikamaru was interrupted by a timid squeak. He looked up and saw Neville standing beside him, books and parchment in hand, shy expression on his face.

"Um," Neville said nervously, "Can I join you guys? I'm having trouble with Potions and History of Magic, but I can help with Herbology." Ron and Harry shrugged indifferently when Shikamaru looked at them.

"Pull up a chair," he said. Neville's face split in a relieved smile and he hurried to do so. When he sat down, Shikamaru asked, "So what are you having trouble with?"

A conglomerate of words that pretty much amounted to _everything_ spilled out and had Shikamaru's mouth tilting up in amusement.

"Alright. No problem. We should start with Potions and work from there," he said patiently. He briefly redirected his attention from his work to helping Neville out, lending his notes and expertise as needed. It wasn't as often as he expected - apparently Neville just had to have some concepts explained in more detail than other people and he was good on theory. Which, considering they had no practical homework yet, was good for him. Halfway through their study pow wow, Hermione joined them by pulling up a chair and asking (demanding) that Shikamaru confer with her about their homework assignments. Even the ones she'd already done.

Deciding that surrender would cause less irritation, he reluctantly engaged in short concise sentences to give her small answers. Despite her initial forwardness, she was surprisingly amenable when it came to correcting her work or defending her position. She even spared him a compliment on his organized notes that had Harry snorting at his expression of somewhat bewildered gratification.

So, maybe it wasn't as bad as it could have been. Meh. He'd never admit it out loud.

…

* * *

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Madam Hooch asked, eyeing her class closely. "Everyone pick a broom and stand by it." Shikamaru looked at the sticks with twigs attached with no small amount of reservations. These things were supposed to be safe? He'd sooner trust Naruto not to go running off at the first sight of danger to the village. Which, considering the blond's personality…

He stepped up reluctantly, not willing to admit that he might be acting a little irrational about this. So, maybe a lot irrational. But he had reasons, namely, the laws of physics. Unfortunately, magic sort of took physics' laws and burned them, dancing happily on the ashes. He only hoped that the brooms had been enchanted to only go a certain height, or distance or…

And there went Neville. In the air. More than a safe distance, despite Madam Hooch's sharp reprimands and commands.

Damn his life.

He guessed it was too much to ask of the school to have some safety features installed on their choice of vehicle.

"Get down here, boy!" Madam Hooch ordered, making no move to get on her own broom and chase after him, or even help him with her wand. What was with the incompetence? At this rate Neville would -

Several people screamed as Neville slid off his broom from over one hundred feet in the air. Shikamaru swore violently in Japanese and had his wand out before anyone could do anything except move a little out of the way of the falling boy's path (and really, what happened to helping those in need? Maybe that wasn't a thing here though).

" _Wingardium Leviosa_!" he snapped, and Neville jerked to a halt not three feet above the ground. People gaped, the instructor included. Shikamaru breathed deeply and tried not to release any killing intent. No need to make some eleven year olds wet themselves, no need at all. He released the spell and Neville fell to the floor with a muffled thump. There was a moment of frozen surprise, and then Madam Hooch rushed briskly forward and bent down to pick the pale boy up. She didn't say anything to Shikamaru, but she gave him an approving nod, which was more than he could say about her at the moment.

"No one do anything while I get Mr. Longbottom to the medical wing. Anyone I see on their brooms will be faster than they can say 'Quidditch'," she ordered sternly. Then she hustled the still blinking boy away. There was silence for five blessed seconds, and then Malfoy started to laugh. Raucously and loudly, and rather unbecomingly of a noble's son.

"Did you see his face, the great lump?" he said with a sneer. Oh joy. Insecurity issues were about to resolve themselves as a pathetic form of bullying. Shikamaru had quite frankly had enough by this time in the day, and he hadn't even had lunch yet. Whatever karma was causing his life to do this to him, he would like to let it be known that he probably didn't deserve it. Maybe.

Before Malfoy could really get into the spirit of things, picking up Neville's remembrall in a way that made Harry tense (and oh, no, classic rival signs, God help him, Shikamaru was _not_ prepared for another rendition of the Dramatic Duo of Fate and the Future of the World) and opening his mouth to say something snobbish and probably rude, Shikamaru stepped next to him and plucked it from his grasp. Hm. For a boy who claimed to be a Quidditch player, his grip needed work. Also? Shikamaru was not dealing with this now, or ever.

Please and thank you.

"I'm glad you picked that up, Malfoy," Shikamaru said. Malfoy gaped unattractively. "If you hadn't, it might have been smashed." He put it very pointedly into his pocket and started towards the castle.

"Where are you going?" Hermione asked. He didn't turn around.

"I'm going to find something more useful than standing around on the Quidditch pitch while Madam Hooch reassures herself that Neville isn't, in fact, hurt. That will take a while, so anyone who doesn't want to spend the next hour and half doing nothing might as well leave now. No one will know if you skive off," he replied. Bad influence? Maybe, but he was too busy being a little bit proud that he'd staved off the Epic Rival Showdown between Malfoy and Harry. He might make respected acquaintances of them yet.

…

* * *

"You what."

It wasn't even a question. Just a statement of complete and utter disbelief that this was the direction the year was going. Harry squirmed under his unimpressed stare. Good.

"He made Seeker on the Quidditch team!" Ron said, clearly feeling no such reservations. "Youngest in a century." The redhead beamed, forgetting about his food entirely.

"No, I heard that part," Shikamaru said, still flatly, "I just...how did this happen?" It was official - he couldn't leave these two alone for an hour. Ron shrugged.

"Malfoy said some stuff and Harry said some stuff back, and then they were racing. McGonagall came out and I thought that was the end of it, but apparently it wasn't," he said. Shikamaru tilted his head ever so slightly.

"You got a position on the team just because of some racing?" he asked in slight disbelief. Harry shook his head.

"No, we were racing to a tree and he pulled up sooner than I did. I was probably an inch away from running into it," he said with a slight grin. Of course he'd be excited about nearly braining himself. Bloody _Gryffindors_ (not the last time he'd think that, he just knew it).

"Well, congratulations," Shikamaru said. He was supposed to offer those, right? He was still trying to process the logic behind the position offer.

"Well done," a voice said from behind them, and dammit, what was with his observational skills lacking lately. People were just sneaking up on him and he wasn't catching them. Clearly he needed to do some strenuous work to get his skills back up to par. But for the moment…

"We're on the team too, Beaters" Fred Weasley said with a grin. His twin, George, stood behind him with a similar expression of pleasure. "Wood told us - you've got to be good, he was almost skipping when he left to tell everyone else."

Harry looked a mixture of overwhelmed and pleased, pink with wide eyes. Ador-

No. Not again. Not going down that pathway ever.

"You're the castle's resident pranksters, right?" he asked to get his midnight away from those disturbing thoughts. Fred and George exchanged surprised glances.

"Yes," they chorused unsurely. He brushed aside a shudder of remembrance from two other menaces and stood up. He was done anyway.

"Good. I have a proposition for you, if you want to hear it," he said. He led them out of the noisy hall and stopped suddenly. He let them wonder as he pulled out a drawstring bag. "Careful, they're volatile," he warned as he handed them over. They curiously peaked inside.

"What're these?" Fred asked, pulling out one of the small grey pellets.

"Those are smoke pellets. Non-vanishable, scentless, trace-less, and ones that build effect with movement, in fact," he said. They're eyes widened comically. At least they didn't drop the bag. In fact, George - the one holding them - clutched them closer.

"And?" he asked. "Why are you handing them to us?"

"To give them to you," Shikamaru said, just because the could. It made them lose their looks of suspicion, so that was a win. "And because I want a favor."

"What kind of favor?" Maybe the returning suspicion was warranted.

"Nothing big. Just a prank to a target of my choice," he said. He gestured at the bag. "There are twenty pellets in there. They activate by being hit hard by something solid - like the ground - and have a ten meter radius of effect. Movement makes the radius increase and the smoke last longer. It generally sticks around for three to five minutes, but the longest has been twelve and a half, so there's lots of room for margin. They're indestructible, won't be set off by fire or ruined by water, and that bag has locked onto your magical signatures so now it'll only open for you two or me. The bag can't be destroyed or vanished either, by the way."

By the time he was done, they were looking at him like he was an angel from heaven.

"Yeah, o-of course we'll take them," Fred said, eyes already glazed with the ideas of future pranks.

"And we'll prank whoever you want too," George added quickly. At least he remembered the important things.

"Excellent," Shikamaru said briskly. "Good doing business with you, gentlemen. I'll be in touch for whenever I need that prank. Happy...pranking." He needed another word for that so that it wasn't so repetitive. Hm...something to consider in his downtime. He walked away and left them whispering furiously with each other, already wrapped up in whatever teacher's nightmare they were going to do next.

He rather looked forward to it, honestly. The people around here were too complacent. A good prank would shake the monotony a bit. It was sad that there was any in a magical school, but whatever.

When he returned to the table where Harry and Ron were sitting, he was instantly wary. The two of them looked guilty and determined in equal measure, and Hermione looked like she was on the verge of giving a very angry rant. Not good combinations.

"What happened," he asked the one person who would tell him without bias.

Neville hesitated and then gave in, "Malfoy came over and challenged Harry to a wizarding duel at midnight tonight in the trophy room because of something about his honor. Ron's going to be Harry's second, Crabbe Malfoy's, and Hermione doesn't think they should go."

Shikamaru was impressed at the concise report. He thanked Neville and turned to his two friends.

"I'm going to hope that you're not actually thinking of going to this very obvious trap," he said conversationally. They didn't answer for a minute. Right, Gryffindors. Which meant they had less logic than usual.

"What do you mean, 'trap'?" Ron asked. Children now. What were their parents teaching them? Clearly common sense was no longer a topic of import. It probably came with the life description of being a wizard. Use magic, make potions, and don't bother trying to make important life decisions that make sense.

Anyway.

"The one where Malfoy tells you where to go and has someone else waiting for you so that you can get caught out past curfew and either lose a lot of house points and get a few months of detention with either Filch, Professor McGonagall or Professor Snape, or you get expelled," Shikamaru replied. There was a sound of alarm as Harry choked on his juice.

" _Expelled_?" Ron asked faintly. Shikamaru nodded sagely.

"Yeah. If he tells Professor Snape, than probably most certainly," he said. Everyone knew by now that Snape had it out for Harry, and just didn't like Ron as a rule of existence, so he'd probably jump at the chance for expulsion. Which, just no. Things were so much better when they were around to make questionable decisions. Unless they directly affected him, then it was mostly irritating.

Harry and Ron were sufficiently pale through the rest of dinner, thinking over the implications of Malfoy ratting them out which, considering the love for passive-aggressive attacks that nobles seemed to have, weren't very nice at all.

"He would do that," Ron said at last as they were leaving the Great Hall.

"Hm?" Shikamaru asked, being brought out of his musings on the downsides to nobility.

"Malfoy," Ron clarified. "He's a sneaky rat like that." Now that seemed a tad harsh, but he supposed if the shoe fit.

"Exactly. Which is why you two will stay in the room tonight, right?" Shikamaru agreed. They nodded reluctantly. Harry looked like he wanted to argue, but seemed to decide against it at the last minute. Well, at least they were learning.

Or, so he believed.

…

* * *

"Psst! Harry! Get up!"

Shikamaru wanted to sigh in exasperation, he really did, but he felt that would defeat the purpose of appearing like he was sleeping. Ron and subtlety did not to hand in hand.

"Yes, I'm up. Now shut up, you'll wake everyone up!"

Neither, apparently, did subtlety and Harry. It was good for them that everyone in this dorm except for Shikamaru were heavy sleepers.

"Alright, let's go." Ron again. At least they were whispering.

"What if Shikamaru was right and it's a trap?" Harry asked shuffling around.

"Dunno. I suppose we book it," Ron replied. Shikamaru rolled his eyes and didn't sigh with effort. "I mean, but this way we know for sure."

Surely they wouldn't actually…

The door to the boy's dorm closed. They would. For a few minutes, he debated the morality of just letting things pan out and letting them learn from their mistakes. Unfortunately, that house loyalty took form of a very annoying thing that he thought he'd left behind.

His conscience.

That it sounded like the Sandaime did not help matters any.

Grumbling mentally, he got up and cast a charm over himself to get rid of any lingering scents and left the room. Where had they said they'd go? The trophy room? Well, if he didn't hurry he probably wouldn't get there in time.

With a stealth born from those who didn't want to be noticed, he made his way quickly to the trophy room in time to hear Filch and a terrified squeak that sounded a lot like... Hermione? What was she doing there? **(1)** Shaking his head, Shikamaru aimed his wand at a suit of armor away from where the Idiot Trio were and muttered a spell to make it move just slightly. It was enough to cause a sound and to draw attention away from them.

He got closer...closer…

 _Clank!_

Shit.

Filch's head whirled around and his eyes honed in where the Idiot Trio were now trying to pick themselves up.

"Run for it!" That was Ron. What was he thinking? Filch would clearly recognize his voice. Shikamaru darted forward, careful to stay in the shadows to have some measure of cover, and heaved Harry and Hermione up.

"Shika-?" Harry started in surprise, but Shikamaru slammed a hand over his mouth. Almost gave him away there, and he did not need that, thanks.

"Move," he hissed. Then he ran after Ron and heard them start to follow. Ron didn't seem to know where he was going, making turns at random areas in the wild abandon of the panicked.

Finally, there weren't any more noises of pursuit and they stopped, three panting loudly, the other listening intently. They were near their Charms classroom, which was farther from the Gryffindor common room than was preferable.

"I think we lost him," Harry said through large gusty breaths. Shikamaru was about to tell him not to jinx it, when who should fly out of the classroom but Peeves.

Well. They were screwed. Shikamaru began to think of escape routes even as the others pleaded with the poltergeist to keep quiet. It didn't work, and as soon as Ron swiped through him in frustration, Peeves bellowed.

"STUDENTS OUT OF BED!"

Shikamaru swore and ducked underneath the ghost, quickly followed by his the Idiot Trio. They soon ran into a locked door.

"We're done for," Ron moaned, tugging fruitlessly at the handle. Shikamaru shoved him out of the way and unlocked it with a tap. Then, he herded everyone inside and shut it again. Instantly, his senses registered a danger, and he turned around while the other three listened at the door for Filch.

A three headed dog stared back at him. A part of him vaguely remembered it to be a Cerberus. The rest of him was just bemoaning everything he'd ever done to get to this point in his life. It wasn't rock bottom, nowhere close, but it was still terrible. The dog started to growl.

He frowned. If it was an aggressive dog, it would have attacked already. He noticed the slightly wagging tail and the lack of raised hackles. Wonderful. It wanted to _play_. Son of a blood leach, he was not equipped for this kind of situation.

"Oh," Hermione whimpered upon turning around. Harry and Ron followed suit and paled simultaneously. Harry scrabbled for the door.

"Out, get - get out!" he opened it and they all run out full tilt, just remembering to shut it behind them again on the Cerberus's protesting barks, all the way to the dorm room. Well. The Idiot Trio ran as fast as they could. Shikamaru just ran a little behind them all to make sure that no one heard the terrible racket they were surely making and came after them for it.

They got through the portrait hole and stopped for a moment. Then, Shikamaru sighed and drew himself up. Whatever expression he had or atmosphere he was exuding had the Idiot Trio stepping back to a safer distance.

Ha. No distance was safe from him at the moment. They'd done the one unforgivable thing (not really, but damn was he irritated about it): they'd motivated him into doing something. The world had better watch out because he was actually motivated to keeping these idiots alive through the years in Hogwarts. **(2)** Somehow he suspected it would end up being far harder than he could be think it could be.

* * *

 **(1): Neville isn't mentioned here because his wasn't injured; therefore he didn't have to stay in the Hospital Wing. Just assume that he returned earlier, even though it wasn't mentioned.**

 **(2): A better reason for motivation, both plotwise and logically, then some feud with Malfoy, though he'll be talking to the little tart soon enough.**

* * *

 **Guest Reviews** **(from bottom to top)**

 **Guest** **: I'm very happy that you like it! Yes, Shikamaru will definitely be changing things. Hope you enjoyed this one.**

 **Guest:** **I'm glad you loved it enough to review!**

 **Guest:** **It is very out of place, thanks for noticing, but the adults of his orphanage are not large on logic. Thank you for the review.**

 **Guest:** **See, someone else understands that Hermione was a tad annoying in the first part of the first book. Obvously she gets better, but Shikamaru would find her iritating at first I think. Anyway, thanks a lot for the review!**

 **Nosy John:** **I understand that Sasuke's issues came from the slaughter of his clan and stuff, and I'm not trying to bash him or anything. Also, yeah, I don't think Shikamaru would mind him after all this time, but I don't know if they'd be friends or anything. Probably just amiable coworkers. Thanks for the input and review!**

 **Jiggly Joe:** **Again, not to bash Sasuke, but I'm thinking that throughout the academy, Shikamaru would at least observe Sasuke. He probably doesn't care about him overly much until the retrieval mission, but from a distance I think he would see Sasuke as cold and condescending to his classmates, and honestly for good reason. Remember that whole, 'I do myself' mentality that he had when Team Seven was first formed? Naruto and he shared it, but it was there. And as for his goal for killing Itachi, I think that might have spread around after he ran off with Orochimaru. Maybe he didn't hear a rant, but he would probably know about it. That's just my thinking, thanks for the review and input.**

 **Ake:** **Firstly, thank you for your review and kind words. Yes, he is a little too good at everything, which is part of the reason for this rewrite. I don't want to make him into a Gary Stue, so here we are. Sorry for the wait, and again thanks.**

* * *

 **A/N: I'm infinitely sorry for how ridiculously long this has taken, good lord I didn't mean it to I swear. As you can see, I'm trying to take this a more introspective and humorous path, as seen with Shikamaru's dubbing of the Golden Trio as the Idiot Trio instead since they're all so troublesome and exasperating, but anyway. Big talk with them coming up, and I hope you like the changes. There's a list of the important ones that will probably affect the plot below for the first chapter.**

 **I'm trying to make Shikamaru resemble a Gary Stue less since that was a problem both I and some reviewers had. Please leave a review, and peace out.**

* * *

 _Changes to the story in Chapter 1 (forgive me if I miss some details, but I'm focusing on the big stuff for you who care):_

Shikamaru isn't so antagonistic towards Malfoy and is much more mature with his situation in general on the train.

Shikamaru's going to try and get the hero worship towards Harry to go down a notch or five because he Does Not Approve.

Shikamaru is more laid back and more of a troll than I had him characterized as before. Still able to get serious, though it'll be a running gag about him bemoaning his lot in life.

Shikamaru's done lots of research on the wizarding world so he knows how to handle pure-bloods and stuff, and he's self taught himself a lot of basic spells that could be used for things related to ninja skills, and potions.

No shadows with his chakra. Sorry fans for it, I just didn't like where it was going, so no. His chakra just caused insomnia and more intense dreams. No evil battling for his soul.

Instead of the Fred and George thing at the end, I moved it to the second chapter and replaced it with some interaction with the Slytherin first years and Snape.


	3. Chapter 3: Talks and Birthdays

_**Summary:**_ **Motivated, miffed, and magical, Shikamaru Nara was a force to behold. Whoever had placed him here was going to get it, but first he'd have to get through a school for magic. And he'd thought ninjas could be stupid. Troublesome.**

 _ **Rating:**_ **T, and should stay that way.**

 _ **Genres:**_ **Friendship, Adventure, Hurt/Comfort, maybe more, I don't know yet.**

 _ **Warnings:**_ **Language, SPOILERS FOR NARUTO AND HARRY POTTER, bullying, implied child abuse/neglect, serious amounts of mind-melting snark, some angst - not much,** **warnings are individual per chapter, might change next chapter or might not** **. No incest, pedophaelia slash or yaoi, yuri, Shounen Ai, or Shōjo Ai.**

 _ **Pairings:**_ **As far as romance goes, it's canon for both series. Friendship!Shikamaru/Harry &Ron&Hermione&Neville&Fred&George. I might add more later, if I think of it.**

 _ **Disclaimer:**_ **WILL NEVER OWN!**

 **Edit (5/8/16): Small clean ups and miniscule changes that won't change much in later chapters, for those of you who have already read this.**

"Speech"

' _Thoughts'_

 **(#) Something to help explain a certain action or characteristic**

 **Time period**

 _Emphasis on words/Flashback_

Regular text

* * *

 **A Shadow in Wizard's Robes Chapter 3: Talks and Birthdays**

 **By: AngelicSilverWolf**

' _Today you are you! That is truer than true! There is no one alive that is you-er than you!' - Dr. Seuss._

* * *

 **Age 6: Five years before Hogwarts:**

"Come back here!"

Shikamaru grimaced at the shout. Now, why on this questionable Earth would he possibly do that? He continued on and, upon running into a wired gate, looked around and spotted a fire escape. Freedom. Well. Temporary freedom, anyway. At the very least, deliverance. He heaved himself onto a nearby convenient dumpster and lunged for the fire escape above it.

Thankfully he made it. Barely, but it counted. He didn't even have to use chakra. He had his vigorous training to thank for that. He tugged himself up and was just standing up, when his pursuer dashed into the alley. He felt his lips tugging themselves into a smirk, but he restrained himself. It was quite amusing to see his attempted tormenter redder than a tomato with both exertion and anger.

"Hey!" the boy who was older by three years exclaimed, and talk about pathetic, going after a younger child. Even if he was a genius. "You can't be up there!"

Shikamaru shrugged. Technically he was neither allowed nor not allowed.

"I'm gonna tell on you," the boy continued triumphantly. Shikamaru shook his head in no small amount of derision (he'd never been like that as a child, right?) and climbed off of the fire escape, jumping to the ground below. He rolled off the impact to reduce pain to his legs. Then he offered a final sarcastic two-fingered salute to the boy behind him and ran out of the alley, enjoying hearing sputters behind him.

Now that he had dealt with that nuisance, he was free for the rest of the day. The orphanage had discovered his magic three years ago when they'd caught him walking up the wall (in his defense, he'd been using his chakra, not magic). From then on, they'd made something of an outcast of him and had been very clear in their dislike of his general existence. If he hadn't already lived one life, it would have been very soul crushing. As it was, he returned their sentiments and tried to avoid them all like the plague unless they deliberately sought him out, like today. Then it was all restrictions off and open season on whoever tried to push him around.

He stopped for a moment to catch his breath and consider where he would go today. There was that one place he'd heard about from the new woman…

"Are you okay?"

Shikamaru looked up to see a somewhat shabbily dressed man with light brown hair graying at the temples and green-brown eyes staring down at him in concern. He belatedly realized the picture he himself painted, thin and young with worn clothes. The fact that he was panting a little probably didn't do anything to make him less resemble a homeless or neglected child. Which, somewhat true but still. He didn't have to look the part.

It wasn't like he was Naruto though; this body had limitations and he wasn't terribly fit. Kind of hard to be with an unsteady source of food and good environmental hygiene.

"Yeah," he replied. The man didn't look convinced. To stave off further questions, he added a little suspiciously, "Who are you?" Best to at least try and act his age, though whether or not he would succeed was up for debate.

"You may call me Lupin, I suppose," the man - Lupin - said with an understanding smile. "And yourself?"

"Shikamaru," he said. "Can you tell me where I am? I lost the street name a few alleys ago." He had been trying to keep track, but it was more difficult than expected while also trying to be as inconspicuous as possible. His pursuer's complete lack of anything stealth made it pretty close to impossible without chakra, something he was trying to use only in emergency situations since it was a little suspicious to see a child running along rooftops like a pro parkor practitioner.

"You are still in London, in case you were concerned, a few streets from Charing Cross Road," Lupin answered. He looked at him curiously. "Do you need help getting somewhere?" Shikamaru was caught between relaxing around this man's apparent innate likeableness and his training to stay away from strangers. Lupin's offer of aid was the most genuine thing he'd heard in literal years. It was refreshing - and dangerous.

"Well," Shikamaru said slowly, "I'm trying to reach this place I heard about, just to see if it's still around." If he phrased it correctly, he'd be able to tell if this man was magical or not. Rather small chance on the former, but he had to start somewhere.

"Ever heard of The Leaky Cauldron?" he asked. Lupin's eyes sharpened with interest and recognition. So either magical or related to a magical relative.

"It rings a bell," the man said carefully. "May I ask from where you heard about it?"

Shikamaru smirked a little at the reminder of what had happened. "I live in a nearby orphanage, and the patrons there are very talkative about places like that," he said. And by talkative he meant vindictive towards. How they all got saddled with over thirty children he'd never know. Realization dawned on Lupin's face, right before distaste flashed over it, only to be covered by polite interest.

So he'd heard about the orphanage then. Probably nothing good if his face meant anything, but also most likely true.

"I think I know what orphanage you're talking about," Lupin said. But he didn't extrapolate. Instead, he added, "I know where the Leaky Cauldron is. I can take you there, if you want."

Shikamaru nodded after a brief hesitation. He was moderately confident that if Lupin turned into a problem, he would be able to create enough noise to draw attention and escape, if not win in a fight. Maybe. He was still working out just how far this body could be pushed before it gave out. It was a bit of a painful and tedious experiment.

Lupin turned and started to walk, not even checking to see if Shikamaru was following, and damn, now he liked him even more. Shikamaru caught up to him easily and thought about starting a conversation. He ended up not doing so and remained silent until they stopped before a nondescript pub some time later.

"Here we are," Lupin said, gesturing to the building that other people's eyes slid off of and around. Shikamaru peered through a grimy window and saw what was most definitely someone drinking a glass of blood.

"They get all sorts of customers," Lupin said wryly, answering Shikamaru's expression of slight distaste.

"Clearly." Well, that was okay. So what if they served vampires and who knew what else in there - no use being xenophobic now when he would probably have to deal with other such creatures in the not so distant future. "Why don't non-magicals see this? It's obviously warded or something, but why so it in the first place?"

Lupin thought for a minute. "The magical community is very private. They don't generally think much of non-magicals - or, muggles. I think they just don't want to be subjugated to muggle whims, they just want to be left in peace," he replied. So basically they had magic and didn't want to share. Interesting; he wondered if the governments at least knew about each other.

"Well, thanks for getting me here," he said. Lupin smiled again.

"You're welcome. Would you like me to come inside with you?" he asked. Again, no condescension. What a nice person. He kind of reminded Shikamaru of Iruka - all quiet strength and sincere demeanor; until someone really pissed him off. Then it was everyone for themselves in an effort to escape the splash zone. Shikamaru shook his head anyway.

"No. I'll be fine. The owner is human, right?" he asked, just to check. Not that there were any problems with nonhumans, but he'd be a bit more comfortable if the person he was asking instructions from wasn't eyeing him like he was lunch. Lupin nodded.

"Ask for Tom. He's the owner and bartender. He should be able to direct you to wherever else you want to go," he said. "It was nice to meet you, Shikamaru."

Shikamaru nodded in agreement, and then entered the bar. He wasn't great at good byes. Besides, he was sure he wouldn't see Lupin again. What were the chances of that happening a second time?

…

* * *

 **Present Day:**

Shikamaru stared at the cowering children in front of him. He took a moment to note the effectiveness of his I Am Displeased face for further study and then moved on.

"So, that happened," he said. They didn't relax. So they had some sense of danger after all. Too bad it hadn't flared up earlier. "And we almost got caught because _some people_ snuck out past curfew to go to a false duel, even though they'd already established that it was probably a trap, because they're apparently incapable of rational thought."

Ron started to protest, but Harry quickly elbowed him into silence. Probably realized that they deserved whatever they were going to get, especially since Shikamaru had helped them not get caught. He caught Hermione's eye.

"And why did you follow them? You could have just let them go and not risk the extra house points your presence would add."

No one answered. He sighed. This was going to be his life now, he knew it. Bailing them out when they made decisions like this. Trying to get Harry and Ron to use their limited common sense, and working on Hermione's desire to tell people off if she didn't agree with whatever they were deciding. It would be good for his patience though, maybe not his health. Or it would drive him insane.

He'd just have to see which happened first, the tipping of his mind over the edge, or the Idiot Trio gaining a healthy amount of self preservation. He really couldn't say which would happen first.

"I'm going to bed," he said, waving a hand. "Think about what I said." He wanted to add 'and maybe your life choices too', but felt that this wasn't the time for humor. He was mostly serious, but it was just a little funny to see them shrink down where they stood. Mean? Maybe. But he got his kicks in where he could get them, and they deserved it for motivating him into making a resolution about something so soon into the school year. He'd let them stew tonight and then subtly let them off the hook tomorrow.

…

* * *

"But don't you want to know?"

Shikamaru heroically didn't sigh. It would have come out explosive and frustrated and they would have gotten their puppy eyes out and no one would've been happy.

"No," he said instead, very patiently in his opinion, because this was the fourth time they'd brought up this subject today, and it was dinner time. Perhaps he should have waited longer to let them know he'd forgiven them. "I don't. Why? Because it's none of my business." Great. Now he sounded like Shino. He hoped that they got the implied message that it wasn't any of theirs either, but no such luck.

"But, why have an enormous dog in a room like that? Where anyone could enter," Harry persisted, for the fourth time.

"It was locked," Shikamaru reminded him again, despite himself. He had to interject some logic into this conversation, even though its topic was _none of their business_ (he didn't want to get involved but dammit, this would end up in danger and possibly death if he didn't step in to try to mitigate the damage).

"So, they _were_ guarding something then?" Ron interjected, looking far too invested in the conversation to be healthy. Shikamaru sighed and gave up. Logic and reason had clearly left this conversation for good. He'd missed its brief presence.

"Not necessarily, maybe it was a ploy," Harry said knowingly.

"What; like some kind of spy movie?" Shikamaru asked, deciding that he might as well try to add some reason. He couldn't beat it, so he'd join in and all that. "No, I don't think so. Besides, what would they have to guard in a school, anyway?"

"Something valuable or rare," Ron said, almost dreamily. Well, it _was_ a magical school, to be fair.

"Or both." Harry grinned in excitement. And hope of relative normalcy dead. Burnt up and shriveled and rapidly disappearing in the wind. Never mind, he changed his mind, he couldn't do it. "Shikamaru? Why are you thumping your head against the table?"

Anyway.

After dinner, Shikamaru bid goodbye to his friends, with no small amount of relief - they could handle themselves for a few _minutes_ , right? - and went in search of the person who'd started this whole thing. It was an unfair place of blame, but he did have some justification and he was sticking with it. He caught Fred and George as they were coming out of the hall.

"Shika! Can we call you that? How's it going?" Fred said in delight. Shikamaru ignored the slight pang of nostalgia that name caused and nodded with a lazy half-smile.

"S'good," he said. "What're you two up to?" Fred and George exchanged mischievousness glances and he raised a hand. "Never mind. I don't want to know. Gives me plausible deniability when McGonagall finds you."

George gasped dramatically while Fred placed a hand over his heart and did his utmost to look mortally offended. "Mister Nara!" he said, wounded tone lacing every word. "I can't believe that you would doubt our ability to have a proper getaway plan. Especially with the tools you so kindly gifted us."

Shikamaru raised an unimpressed eyebrow, unmoved by the theatrics. They had nothing on Lee's and Gai's Rainbows of Youth (those who saw that were scarred forever and were never the same again). "I meant that McGonagall will suspect you regardless of your escape, and I don't want to accidentally get pulled into it somehow," he said. Fred and George dropped their pretend offended tone and grinned good naturedly.

"Well, so long as we're clear," Fred joked. Shikamaru titled his head.

"You don't happen to know where Draco Malfoy is, do you?" he asked. They raised their eyebrows in tandem, and he took a moment to wonder whether it was from practice or coincidence. Or one of those legendary twin soul connections.

"Probably his common room, why?" George asked slowly.

Shikamaru shrugged. "I want to have some words with him."

Their faces lit up in identical expressions of unholy glee. It was disconcerting, how in sync they were. It also brought back some unpleasant memories of the two hellions in Konoha.

"Oh, is Malfoy Jr. in trouble?" Fred asked.

"Do you perhaps need a prank to settle the score?" George added.

"Do you even know what he did?" Shikamaru asked. Maybe in amusement. Maybe not. And when did his word quota stretch without his noticing? He'd have to think about his disturbing increase in word count later on.

"No, but we figure that if you, Neutrality Nara, are going to 'have some words' with the little twat, then he did something," George said. Shikamaru had to concede his clever word play.

"Nothing big," he said. Well. Besides where he almost caused the probable expulsion of three Gryffindor students through an indirect attack. Other than that, nothing big at all. "I just want to clear some things up." Fred waved him away easily.

"Stay enigmatic then, we'll find out eventually. You'll come to learn that the Hogwarts gossip mill is unmatched by even the Daily Prophet in terms of time it takes for rumors to spread," he said cheerfully. Shikamaru acknowledged this with the slightly immature eye roll that it deserved and turned towards the Slytherin common room. He had _Hogwarts a History_ to thank for the location. Really, 'dungeons' was not a particularly vague hint. He looked around, saw some Slytherins entering and leaving a certain corridor, and followed subtly. He stopped in front of a dead end stone wall and knocked, lightly enough that it could've been mistaken for someone being nudged into it.

It sounded hollow. He smirked in mild triumph. Amateurs. They didn't even bother to make anything real except for the looks and texture. He knocked again, harder, twice. The sound echoed in the damp corridor. He took in his surroundings while he waited. Mostly stone wall and ground, and a few windows from which shone the green light of the lake, casting strange lights over the stone.

He supposed it made sense that the house of green be lit with green light, no matter how eerie. The door melted away and dozens of haughty and slightly hostile eyes looked his way. They'd guessed he wasn't one of them, then.

"Gryffindor," an older student said, standing up. "What do you want?"

"To speak to Draco Malfoy," he replied. He could feel the hierarchy that was in place here. Slytherin was a place where respect was earned and position fought for. Seniority mattered, and words meant the difference between being an outcast and being heralded as important. Good thing he had excellent practice in both politics and damage control as Naruto's advisor (as charismatic as the blond was, he still stepped on quite a few toes with his rather brash nature).

And one thing he'd learned was that people were caught off guard with honest intentions. It made them wonder about the genuinity of it and whether there was an ulterior motive. It wasn't good practice to be consistently honest, but every now and then threw others off.

The Slytherin looked quickly at a nearby housemate, who shook his head, before turning back with a blank expression.

"He isn't here," he said.

Shikamaru quirked up one side of his mouth into a dangerously sharp grin. It wasn't friendly. The surrounding Slytherins leaned away unconsciously. "Shouldn't the house of Snakes be able to _lie_ better?" he asked nonchalantly with an undertone of menace. The Slytherin before him stepped back, and then seemed to catch himself and hastily stepped forward again.

"I can wait here all night," Shikamaru said. "I won't hurt him. I just want a word." Now, what Malfoy did after the aforementioned word to possibly cause consequences was entirely up to him.

"For Salazar's sake," someone Shikamaru vaguely recognized to be Marcus Flint grumbled. "Malfoy! Get your pasty arse out here."

Respect for the nobles indeed. Age probably took priority. Malfoy pushed through the crowd, and his white complexion paled considerably when he saw Shikamaru casually leaning against the stone doorway.

"Nara," he said a little unsurely. Then, remembering that he was surrounded by classmates who would love nothing more than to knock the Malfoy heir down a peg, he straightened up. "What is it?"

Shikamaru let himself remain deliberately loose when he shrugged. Like he couldn't possibly care about all of the tension in the room. "Just a talk about Harry's and Ron's late night activities," he said. Malfoy's eyes narrowed. "Would you prefer to do this here or outside?" Shikamaru asked. It sounded like he was being nice and giving him a choice, but he was really taking control of the situation by only giving him two options to choose between. Malfoy paused, and then jerked his head towards outside the room. Shikamaru led the way and was sure to cast a silencing spell so that no one could eavesdrop on their conversation **(1)**.

"So, Malfoy. About the duel," he said, and then turned to look the younger boy in the eye.

…

* * *

"Say, Shikamaru? Why does Malfoy look so skittish around you?"

It was breakfast time the day after Shikamaru introduced himself as a person to be wary of to the entirety of the Slytherin house, and the birds were (probably) singing (he couldn't really hear them from inside the castle), the sun was (mostly) shining, and he was feeling much more content with his lot in life now that he'd fixed a minor problem that could have developed into a much larger one later on. Oh, and Malfoy was now avoiding him as much as possible. A win for both sides **(2)**.

"I just had a talk with him," he said to Ron. The redhead became more interested.

"Really? What about?" Harry asked, looking up from the _Daily Prophet_.

"Underhanded schemes to get others in trouble. Nothing big."

" _Is this a threat? Potter and Weasley almost got in trouble so they sent their guard dog after me?" A pale but sneering face, and he had to give some credit for the sheer levels of condescension in light of clearly being wrong._

" _No. A warning. From one heir to another. They can handle themselves, and probably will deserve it when they do get in trouble, but I'm telling you to back off now before you do something else moronic and get them_ and _yourself hurt." He spun gracefully on his heel and prepared to leave. "Just a warning, Malfoy. Heed it or don't. But think about what it would do to your reputation if you actually got caught because you weren't careful enough." Then, he walked away to let the Malfoy scion think about his words._

 _No harm done. Hopefully he'd just inspired a thinking-before-doing mentality._

"Right." Ron looked positively gleeful with all of the things he was imagining said or done to Malfoy. All of them incorrect, of course.

"Oh, right! For some reason that reminded me," Harry said suddenly. He dove for his bag and dug around while saying, "Ron and I were talking when I remembered this article from the paper." He pulled out a clipping with a picture of what looked like the Gringotts goblins.

"So, when I went to the bank the first time with Hagrid, we went to _this_ vault to get something out of it. The very same day, it gets broken into. Very suspicious, yes? So, we figure that whatever Hagrid took out of the bank, it must be what that dog is guarding," he said excitedly. Shikamaru personally thought that it was a bit of a leap from A to D, but pushed it aside for the more pressing problem.

"Again, does it matter?" he asked. The two gave him startled looks, like they couldn't fathom why it wasn't important. It was times like these that caused him to occasionally entertain the fantasy of what his life would have been like in another house. Like Hufflepuff. They seemed to know when to leave well enough alone. "This should be the sort of thing to leave to the officials and the professors."

"But don't you want to know?" Harry prodded.

"No," Shikamaru said flatly. They startled a little at his tone. He sighed. God save him from the horrors of children. Shikadai had _not_ been this bad. Hell, _Naruto_ hadn't been this bad and he'd chased after Sasuke for how many years? "It's dangerous for one," he continued. He didn't tell them that the only form of attack the Cerberus had intended on doing was one that involved much licking and wagging of its tail.

"Not to mention," he added when they opened their mouths - probably to protest this clear cowardly act as members of the house of the brave, "We would probably get into lots of trouble by butting in. And if we didn't, it would be incredibly dangerous not to mention hubristic of us to think that we could handle it if the staff couldn't."

Harry clearly didn't agree, but didn't say anything to refute it, seeing that Shikamaru wouldn't change his mind. After a rather tense pause, Ron said with the air of randomly casting around for any other topic at all, "So you went to the bank on your birthday? I dunno whether you're lucky or not that it isn't during school. Mine is March first."

"Yeah. I mean, I understand why you would want to have it during the summer, but I think I would actually like to have it during school more. The Dursleys aren't real big on acknowledging it," Harry said thoughtfully, mercifully going with the change of subject. Ron winced and his face darkened.

"Tough luck, mate," he said bracingly. "We'll just have to give you extra good presents to make up for that sorry lot."

Shikamaru murmured an agreement as Harry went pink.

"You don't need to do that," he said weakly. The prospect clearly excited him though. Shikamaru made a mental note to get Hypatia on memorizing Harry's address. She'd sooner peck out some eyes than fail a delivery, so if Mr. Dursley tried to stop her...well, Shikamaru hoped that he had good medical insurance (except not really because that would be just a little bit funny).

"We want to," Ron said firmly. He turned to Shikamaru. "When is yours then?"

Shikamaru shrugged absently, studying the article on the break-in in spite of himself. There was something interesting about it all.

Whether by coincidence or some strange twist of fate, his birthday was the same as it had been in his previous life. "September twenty second."

There was another silence, and when Shikamaru looked up his friends were wearing horrified expressions. Even Harry.

"That's in, like, three days!" Ron said. "What the hell? You didn't say anything."

"Should I have? It isn't a big deal," Shikamaru said, raising an eyebrow. And, compared with Harry who seemed to believe that he wasn't good enough for one or something, it actually wasn't. This was, after all, his second time turning twelve. Not something particularly momentous to celebrate.

"B-but, how can't you like celebrating your own birthday?" Ron protested, scandalized by the very thought.

"It's hard to appreciate a birthday when there are dozens of people around you who don't celebrate theirs either," Shikamaru said dryly. Both Harry and Ron's faces twisted in confusion.

"Dozens? How many siblings do you have?" Ron asked.

"None. I'm an orphan in the overcrowded orphanage, Hope's Wishes for Young Children. Or, the 'Orphanage from Hell', known as such by its younger residents" Shikamaru told them. After a second of the information sinking in, their eyes widened. It was amusing how in sync they were. From expressions to timing on feelings - they could have been brothers. Even Hermione, from a few seats down where she was valiantly trying to pretend that she wasn't eavesdropping, whipped her head up from the spot in her book that she hadn't changed since the beginning of breakfast.

"You're an orphan? So, you're parents are…" Harry trailed off uncomfortably.

"I'm not sure. I don't know if they're dead or not, but they did leave me on the steps of the orphanage," Shikamaru said. Not that he was incredibly beat up about it; his real parents weren't in this universe - one wasn't even alive anymore. He slouched at their aghast faces. "Don't worry about it. I got over it a while ago." Twenty some odd years or so was a while by anyone's standards. Not that he would tell them that part.

It was still a little awkwardly silent on the way to Potions. Shikamaru mildly regretted it but figured he couldn't do anything to help it pass besides perhaps not mentioning anything else about his personal life. Thankfully he was paired with Neville, so he didn't have to deal with both Ron and Harry's (and he'd thought that the latter at least would know better) sympathetic and considering glances. He felt absolutely no pity whatsoever for Ron's apprehensive expression when he was given Hermione for a partner. Maybe it would get him to stop shooting Shikamaru looks when he thought he wasn't looking.

The Forgetfulness Potion that they were assigned wasn't particularly difficult, so Shikamaru focused mostly on helping Neville understand what certain ingredients did when used in certain ways. Neville would never be an expert but this would hopefully help his performance enough to let him pass the class.

"Just don't touch the Lethe River Water," Shikamaru advised him as he poured some of the substance into the potion. Neville tilted his head in confusion. "In Greek mythology, the water was strong enough to wipe the memories of those who touched it, permanently." He had found that Neville did better while being distracted by little bits of trivia, and there was some truth to the myths. It wasn't a complete memory wipe of course, that would happen with some combinations of other memories, but it did cause temporary loss of memories of the past hour or so. Not a particularly desired condition.

In any case, Neville paled a little and eyed the bottle distrustfully. Now he would watch his movements more. Shikamaru was working to get complete stability in the hands by the end of the year. His eyes tracked Snape's movements, narrowing in thought as he snidely interrupted another Gryffindor table. He muttered to Neville, "Get ready in three...two...one…"

Snape swirled over to them. Shikamaru's eyes remained on him but his head bent over the cauldron to check the consistency and color. Correct on all counts, but an actual Potions Master could probably find some faults in it if he was being picky. Neville was tense and clearly frightened, but thankfully his grip on the bottle of Lethe River Water didn't loosen. In order to keep his friend from losing his commendable control, Shikamaru looked up and met the eyes of his Potions teacher. Immediately he felt another mind touch his.

He didn't smirk but it was a near thing. Instead, he slouched even further and pointedly yawned. Snape's eyes narrowed and the probing became more forceful. Because he'd been using the exercises Ino taught him, the assault wasn't as painful as the first time Snape had tried this on him. He could play this game all day. He kept him out with a nice wall of uncaring attitude, and after another few seconds the man moved on with a thoughtful yet annoyed expression. It took skill to display both of those at the same time - Shikamaru commended the emotional mixes the professor could combine.

Well, at least he hadn't taken another cheap shot at Neville. If Shikamaru could engineer it so that the two of them had little to no interactions for about two months, he was sure that Neville would vastly improve in both Potions and confidence. And if he had to garner some attention with his unusual mental fortitude...he had to start act on that resolution some time, right? Besides, it would be good practice.

After class, Ron and Harry accosted him outside of the classroom.

"What was that thing with Snape just now?" Ron asked. Shikamaru gave him a somewhat flat look.

"What do you mean?" he asked. Ron made a noise and gestured with his hands in a way that increased his resemblance to a flailing duck.

"That thing where you two just stared at each other for like, ten minutes straight," he said impatiently. Shikamaru shrugged.

"Bit of an exaggeration. It was more like two, if that," he said. He couldn't help the half smile that curled his lips when Ron glared at him for dancing around the topic.

"Why did he stare at you like that?" Harry interjected, coming into his friend's rescue.

"He was attempting to probe my thoughts via a magical process called Legilimency. I kept him out with a bastardized version of the mental defense, Occlumency. When he couldn't get in, not for lack of trying though I doubt it was full force, he left. You noticed the eye contact? That's how he skims thoughts," Shikamaru told them. They both looked rather horrified at the thought of one of their professors reading their minds.

"Snape's a mind reader?" Harry blurted out, looking deeply uneasy.

"So you said that he looks at the eyes, right? All we have to do is stop from looking him in the eye?" Ron added a little desperately. Shikamaru nodded slowly. In theory it should work, but he didn't know enough about the mental arts to give them a definitive answer and told them so. "Better than nothing. I can't believe that slimy-" Ron cut himself off, looking highly disgruntled. "No wonder he always catches us when we lie."  
"No, you're all just terrible at lying," Shikamaru corrected him. "Gryffindor first years are some of the worst liars I've ever seen." And that was something considering that Naruto couldn't lie to save his life. Then, predicting their next train of thought, he said, "And no I won't teach you to lie better. Learn to do it yourselves or just don't lie."

They disguised their pouting as moody scowls, but since they weren't teenagers yet it didn't quite work. Shikamaru just smirked at them and continued on with his day. Ah, the benefits of being a man in a child's body - he couldn't succumb to peer pressure or any form of thereof.

…

* * *

"Wake up!"

Shikamaru was torn from his sleep (the one that happened once in a blue moon, there had better be a good reason for this) when something soft smacked him in the face. His eyes opened instantly, and he was holding someone's wrist in a crushing grip before he could think. Then, upon seeing who it actually was, he let go and sank back onto his bed with a groan.

"Ron," he said, voice muffled in the pillow that hadn't been used to wake him up, "why are you hitting people with pillows? Is this a new hobby I should be worried about?"

Someone snorted.

"Sorry. We just wanted to wake you up for your birthday presents. Anyway, here you go," Harry said from somewhere to his right. Shikamaru cracked an eye open in time to catch a present that was tossed in his direction. Shikamaru felt a twinge of gratitude and surprise underneath the rising irritation at having been awoken from an actual REM sleep cycle.

"Any particular reason that he's waking me up like that in the first place?" he asked. He wouldn't talk to Ron for fear of how he would retaliate for this atrocious crime. Harry opened his mouth a little apologetically, but Ron beat him to it.

"You wouldn't wake up when I called you earlier, so pillow time it was!" he said unapologetically, lobbing a wrapped object at the prone figure. "It's seven o'clock anyway."

"Could you all shut up, please?" Seamus growled from behind his bed curtains and at least two pillows.

"Not my fault," Shikamaru muttered. Then, he drew up short as the sentence processed. " _Seven_?" he clarified. There was absolutely no hint of a whine in his statement at all. Harry shrugged.

"We wanted to do it early. Apparently it's tradition," he said, rolling his eyes. Right. Pretty sure that wasn't how tradition worked.

His brain was taking a bit to kick into gear, but to be fair; this would have been difficult to comprehend on a normal day. He shook his head. "Alright. Let's take this outside so that we don't wake anyone else up."

The two nodded agreeably and left in relative silence. Shikamaru sighed. Really, the things he did for these people. He dressed quickly and was out of the dorm in record time

"So how does this work…" Shikamaru trailed off, looking in some astonishment at the small pile of presents on a table.

"Here, from Hagrid, Fred and George, and me," Harry said cheerfully. Hermione and Neville grinned next to him, each holding their own presents. "Tradition states that you open them now." Well, who was he to break tradition? The peaceful atmosphere was ruined completely by Ron telling him emphatically to hurry it up. He was just breaking all sorts of unspoken rules today, wasn't he?

"Don't be rude. It's his birthday, he can go his own pace," Hermione scolded him. Neville took one look at the impending argument and wisely stepped away.

Shikamaru ended up getting _The Standard Book of Spells Grade 3_ from Hermione ("Well, I figured it would do since you're always practicing spells I haven't heard of before from other books," she told him with a hint of embarrassment), a truly ridiculously sized box of sweets from Ron that had Neville and Harry gaping in surprise (and he completely blamed the redhead for any and all future cavities he would get), the book _Owl Breeds_ from Harry, an excellent wooden and leather wand holster from Neville that was much nicer than his current second-hand one, another book (interestingly enough) on pranks and tricks from the twins, and a tin of fudge and rock cakes from Hagrid. He'd soften those up by the fire before trying to eat them.

He looked them all in the eye and thanked them one by one with all of the sincerity in the world. Harry and Hermione went pink and muttered replies, Ron just grinned, and Neville (as the only normal one of the lot, really) replied with equal honesty that he was happy to do it. Shikamaru hoped that Neville wouldn't be corrupted by the Idiot Trio's strangeness.

Afterwards they all went and visited the grounds, equally glad that it was Saturday, while Shikamaru worked out when he would thank the twins and Hagrid for their presents. They ended up doing nothing except some chess matches, some cloud watching and some amiable talking. Well, Harry, Neville and Shikamaru were amiable. Hermione and Ron spent a lot of the time sniping at each other, much to everyone else's chagrin. Still, it was a nice day in the scheme of things, and Shikamaru appreciated it for the one of a kind that it was. They would probably be few and far between, so he'd enjoy it while it lasted.

* * *

 **(1): Before anyone asks, no, this is not** _ **muffliato.**_ **Shikamaru wouldn't know that spell. I imagine that there is more than one spell to prevent people from listening in on conversations.**

 **(2): Shikamaru will, later on, attempt to decrease the gap between the houses, but right now he doesn't really have cause to and therefore won't try that hard.**

* * *

 **Guest Reviews** **(bottom to top)**

 **Guest** **: Thanks so much! Sorry for the delay! Hope you enjoyed it!**

 **Guest** **: Er, I didn't know that Hypatia was from the golden age of porn, but I'll take your word for it. I just named the owl that because Hypatia was a Greek mathematician, astronomer, and philosopher in Egypt. She taught in Alexandria in Rome, and I want Shikamaru's owl to be intelligent so, but sorry? Is this a complaint? Anyways, thanks for reviewing!**

 **Guest** **: Yes, hello. Sorry for this terribly late reply, but anyway. As you can see, I changed the prank target. Originally it was because Ron made fun of Shikamaru, but anyway. And yes, I'm glad you agree with me on the motivation level. There isn't a real amount of danger right now besides the trio's innate curiosity, so he isn't particularly determined to do more besides be the sole voice of reason. Thank you so much for your review!**

* * *

 **A/N: Why hello there. I finally finished this chapter remake. Gosh was it hard. Remember that talk I promised? Plot demanded otherwise, that jerk. Anyway, hope you enjoy, sorry for the wait and such. Please review and tell me if you like the changes.**

* * *

 **RECOMMENDATIONS** **(Yes, I decided to do this now. Recommending Naruto and Harry Potter Stories, including crossovers. If you've already read them, sorry, but next time will have different ones!):**

 **The Unbound Soul – Mrs. InsaneOne: Crossover where Harry was experimented on by Orochimaru along with Yamato for bloodline stuff. Shikaku is in it, if anyone is interested, but it IS rated M (sorry).**

 **Sticks, Stones and Broken Bones – Littleforest: Not a crossover, but an AUish story where Harry is homeless and meets Ron, guess what happens next? It hasn't updated in a year and I'm sad. Rated T.**

* * *

 _Changes to the Story in Chapter 2 (forgive me if I miss some details, but I'm focusing on the big stuff for you who care):_

Shikamaru has a normal nightmare instead of one induced by that chakra thing that I made up. Yeah, I ditched that because I ended up disliking where it was going - nowhere. Yin chakra just causes some more intense nightmares for now.

Shikamaru is much more snarky and introspective, if that counts as a change to a single chapter.

Shikamaru more or less stops the confrontation between Malfoy and Harry from happening instead of threatening Malfoy, and the two end up racing out of childishness instead of a stolen Remembrall.

Shikamaru asked for a prank on a chosen subject after he gifts the smoke-pellets to Fred and George instead of wishing it on Ron.

Hermione is present when the three boys sneak out at night, and Shikamaru consequently dubs the Golden Trio, the Idiot Trio.

Shikamaru is motivated by the urge to keep them from doing stupid, life-endangering stunts instead of some argument with Malfoy.


	4. Chapter 4: Halloween

**A/N: I'm moving guest review answers for earlier chapters to the updated chapters from the more recent chapters so that they'll correlate appropriately. If the review isn't there in time for the update, I'll just answer it in the next updated chapter and label it as an answer for the actual chapter. Questions? PM me, please.**

 _ **Summary:**_ **Motivated, miffed, and magical, Shikamaru Nara was a force to behold. Whoever had placed him here was going to get it, but first he'd have to get through a school for magic. And he'd thought ninjas could be stupid. Troublesome.**

 _ **Rating:**_ **T, and should stay that way.**

 _ **Genres:**_ **Friendship, Adventure, Hurt/Comfort, maybe more, I don't know yet.**

 _ **Warnings:**_ **Language, mentions of bullying, implied child abuse/neglect, non-canon elements, SPOILERS FOR HARRY POTTER AND NARUTO ,** **warnings are individual per chapter, might change next chapter or might not** **. No slash or yaoi, yuri, shounen ai, shoujo ai, incest, pedophaelia or necrophaelia.**

 _ **Pairings:**_ **As far as romance goes, it's canon for both series. Friendship!Shikamaru/Harry &Ron&Hermione&Neville&Fred&George. Mentorship!Snape/Shikamaru.I might add more later, if I think of it.**

 _ **Disclaimer:**_ **Don't own, never will, either of them would be awesome, but alas there's a reason why I'm writing Fanfiction instead.**

"Speech"

' _Thoughts'_

 _Emphasis on words_

 **(#): A/N to explain something and/or justify something**

 **Time Skip of Given Time**

Regular text

* * *

 **A Shadow in Wizard's Robes Chapter 4: Halloween**

 **By: AngelicSilverWolf**

' _A real friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walks out,' Walter Winchell_

* * *

 **Age 8: Three years before Hogwarts.**

Shikamaru had to admit, he didn't think they would sink this low. Naïve of him, sure, but honestly. Who would've suspected this?

He gave a hard look at the matron of the orphanage and then returned his stare to the man in front of him. His new...therapist. Great.

"Can I at least ask why?" he sighed, irritated. Just one more way to try and control him - it was getting old.

"Well, some people around here were getting worried about your night terrors," she said carefully. He raised an eyebrow that spoke of his disbelief. If she was going to lie she should've at least tried to make it plausible. They both knew that the only thing people around here were worried about was him flying off the handle and using his magic in despicable ways to murder them all.

"Right," he drawled. He gestured at the man who was watching the conversation intently. "So your solution is a shrink?"

She frowned at him while the man perked up at the terminology.

"I see what you meant about acting different from his age group," he said to the matron. She nodded.

"Indeed. We were concerned about his social development," she said. Her fake earnestness got on Shikamaru's nerves.

"You know, it would be nice if you stopped pretending that I wasn't here," he said with a bite of impatience. He wasn't particularly in the mood for this conversation. Last night had been a short scene of how the war could have gone. Suffice to say it ended painfully and with lots of death.

"Of course, excuse us," the man hurried to say. The condescending kindness irritated him. At least the adults here acknowledged his maturity, even if they didn't like him. If they picked up on this behavior, it might actually drive him insane.

Still, there no need to let the man know exactly how different he was. Operation: Fool the Fool was underway. So, in an uncharacteristic show of childishness, he crossed his arms and scowled. "Weren't you just saying that I was different from my age group?" he snapped. Satisfaction flashed through him, though he was careful not to show it, when the man raised a placating hand. Like he would with a temperamental child. Better to play the part he expected to see.

"I apologize. You are different," he said. Shikamaru pretended to think about it, and then relaxed slightly. No need to go overboard with it though.

"It isn't your fault that she thinks I'm crazy," he allowed. It was the man's fault for trying to pose as something he clearly was not. If he was an actual therapist intent on helping Shikamaru, then he wasn't a reincarnated ninja who hadn't actually died (still a bit unclear on that, by the way).

"That's right. He's here to clean up your act," the woman sneered. Shikamaru didn't have to fake the look of bored derision he shot her.

"Now, now, let's not fight," the man said in alarm. He turned to her. "Why don't you leave us to our meeting now? Thank you for the help."

It clearly wasn't a suggestion, and Shikamaru didn't bother to hold back the mocking smirk as she left with a burning glare. He turned back to see the man watching him carefully. It was easy to fake defensiveness and distrust. Most of it was true, but he kept everything else hidden. Besides, it wasn't so much defensiveness as it was wariness and warning. If the man tried anything, Shikamaru could easily arrange for him to have an _accident_.

"Now then, let's sit. May I call you Shikamaru?" The man continued at his slight nod, "My name is Dr. Avery. I understand that you've been having some nightmares? What do those entail?"

Shikamaru had a premonition of uncomfortable times ahead and decided that his life just became far more troublesome. He wanted a smoke.

…

* * *

"Well? Is it he?"

"Yes, Lucius. He's a tricky one. Smart, but still a child. She overestimated his ability to perceive."

"If you're wrong about this, Avery…"

"You heard Rowle."

"Ah, yes. Rowle. He is not the most...trustworthy of sources."

"His memory isn't tampered with, and nor is it cloudy. The prophecy is real."

"Very well. I expect you will take the lead on this?"

"Certainly. But we must give him time. Indoctrination and trust are slow processes. He doesn't know yet."

"He'll find out in time, and should he be unwilling, I want you to use any means necessary to ensure his cooperation."

"Of course. He will help the Dark Lord rise once more whether he wants to or not."

…

* * *

 **Present**

Shikamaru gave himself one day in October to think about his past life. He also held a silent celebration for Naruto's birthday, asking the twins where he could find the kitchen house elves, who were more than happy to try a new recipe. They were delighted by the challenge he presented them with. Apparently ramen actually required some technique - the real stuff anyway. He separated himself from his friends and any company for one day, thankful that it was a Saturday, by explaining that he was honoring the memory of someone he was separated from.

The subject was dropped immediately, and he pushed away the guilt at the deception. Technically it was true, even if they didn't understand the context in which he meant 'separated'. When he emerged, they acted as if nothing had happened and he was grateful.

Hermione nagged him about the circles under his eyes and his continued unhealthy sleeping cycle, recommending all sorts of tips for better sleep; Ron talked about Quidditch and moaned about homework; Harry quietly asked about his health exactly once and then joined Ron on the Quidditch talk; and Neville just said, "Glad you're back," and left it at that.

Shikamaru deeply appreciated this. He didn't particularly want to tell them the reason behind his disappearance. They seemed to assume that his mellow mood stemmed from memories of the orphanage, and he was perfectly fine with letting them continue to think this. He was...less fine when they started to - subtly for them, which meant not at all to anyone else - inquire about it. It wasn't that he enjoyed keeping secrets, but he figured it was better to keep it quiet so that they didn't get any ideas about his summer life.

It wasn't terrible, especially not compared to Naruto's, but it wasn't particularly ideal either. He disliked the orphanage and that was it.

He also had nightmares, but silencing spells and little sleep prevented that from becoming known. He wrote a few down, as per recommendation from his last life, but otherwise they went unacknowledged. Healthy? Not really. He probably had PTSD, but it wasn't like there were a whole lot of triggers in this world for him. Unless there was someone out there secretly practicing hand seals (unlikely).

"Hey, Shikamaru," Ron said abruptly. Shikamaru looked up from his essay - another one, and good God, these teachers had absolutely _no_ creativity with the assignments they gave out - to see his friend frowning. He saw the other three inch closer and recognized that they were about to have, as Hermione called it, a bonding session. He straightened in his seat as he saw the concerned looks the trio was sprouting.

"Yeah?" he asked.

"What's wrong?" Ron asked. Hermione rolled her eyes at this lackluster approach.

"What?" Shikamaru said in slight confusion.

"We've noticed that you've been distracted lately. More than usual, I mean. Yesterday, I tried for a solid five minutes to get your attention, but you were just spacing out. It was weird," Hermione interjected. Shikamaru frowned thoughtfully. Had he done that? He couldn't remember. That wasn't good. Though, now that he thought about it, he could remember Hermione shooting him furtive glances throughout the day. Damn, he clearly wasn't as aware of his surroundings as he needed to be. Before, he had a comrade to pull him out of his thoughts, but children wouldn't really expect it or know how to snap him out of it.

"Sorry about that, Hermione. I tend to get really deep in thought and it's hard for people to get me out of it," he told her. She shook her head.

"I know that, I've seen you do it before. But you've been doing it more lately. Any particular reason why?" she pressed. When he remained silent, she said hesitantly, "Is it because of the orphanage?" As much as he would like to blame the place, he could only use the excuse so many times before they started investigating his home life more.

Instead he sighed and said, "Nah. I'm just thinking about some old friends. Haven't seen them in a while." Twelve years, in fact. Kind of a long time not to see his family.

"Oh yeah? Why not?" Harry asked, perking up now that they weren't talking about the orphanage. It made him uneasy to hear about the place that he could have gone if not for the Dursleys.

"They live really far away. Somewhere Asian. I can't really contact them because I don't know their addresses or anything," Shikamaru explained. Asia, the Elemental Nations, same thing. "They got mixed up in some...gang work, so it would be dangerous to try anyway." Gangs, ninja, all sides of the same coin, right?

"Gangs?" Hermione looked properly disturbed.

"What're gangs?" Ron asked curiously, switching his gaze between the two of them.

"They're groups of people who control large areas. Usually they're in cities, and are quite often very violent and territorial," she said, biting her lip. "You aren't part of one, are you?" She looked at Shikamaru in concern. He lopsidedly smiled at her.

"No. That's just them," he said.

"Couldn't you try the police if they're having trouble with gangs?" Harry asked. Shikamaru shook his head.

"Not really. They like to have local law enforcement in their pockets, or they have member or two on the force to keep from getting in trouble," he said. The ANBU were the law enforcement in Konoha since the Uchiha were gone, and considering what the ANBU force's reputation...well, civilians tended to hesitate to ask for help. No telling what could cause an operative to crack.

"Well, as long as you're safe, what does it matter?" Ron asked reasonably. Hermione scowled at him.

"He's obviously worried about his friends," she began hotly. Shikamaru cut her off.

"No, they can handle themselves. If anything, I would worry about the people around them. They tend to get a little extreme," he said.

This silenced her, and the conversation switched again. Somehow he figured that she would find a way to corner him about this later. Oh well, life was like one big Shoji game. Sacrifices had to be made, even if it was his dignity.

…

* * *

Harry was concerned. Mostly about his Potions grade (if he didn't clean up his act he'd have to take remedial Potions, and _no one_ wanted to do that), but also about Shikamaru. He had the feeling that his friend was hiding some big, but no matter how much he wracked his brain, he couldn't think of what it might be. And any attempts to find out what it was were brushed off with frustrating ease. At least Shikamaru's classes were going well - all the teachers liked him besides Snape, but the Potions Master seemed to tolerate him, which was more than Harry himself could say.

He'd just have to watch his friend closer was all. Of course these worries were put in the back burner of his mind when an owl dropped a broomstick in front of his face. Shikamaru could take care of himself while he tried out this broom.

…

* * *

Shikamaru's breakfast was disturbed when some owl dropped a broomstick in front of Harry, causing toast to fly, a juice to spill, and curses to fill the air. This was, of course, before everyone saw the package.

Shikamaru read the note while Ron went into raptures, and scoffed under his breath. Professor McGonagall couldn't have been serious about the secrecy. A broomstick wasn't exactly a common shape, and no matter what model it was, a first year having one was definitely unusual. There would be all sorts of talk tomorrow about Harry getting one when no one else could. Maybe that was her point though - what did he know about teacher intentions?

Harry and Ron dragged him away from his breakfast so that they could go drool over the thing properly in the dormitory, but they were interrupted by Hermione halfway up the stairs.

"Harry, I cannot believe that you're accepting the broom. You got it because you broke the rules," she said disapprovingly. Harry looked at Ron, who shrugged.

"Professor McGonagall gave it to me - it can't have been that bad, can it?" he said. She paused.

"She did?" she said. Harry nodded and dug around for the note.

"There, see? Teacher approved. Can we go now?" Ron asked impatiently. She nodded rather dazedly. Clearly the note was turning her world upside down. Shikamaru offered her a pat on the shoulder before he followed the other two upstairs. She'd have to learn that teachers weren't infallible someday.

Thoughts of the disillusioned brunette behind them were cast aside when Harry revealed the broom. Ron sighed in awe and Shikamaru had to admit that, despite his distaste for the objects themselves, it was very masterfully crafted. Everything from the sleek handle to the straight twigs spoke of time and concentration. Or magic.

The last thought sort of ruined the image for him as he imagined the magical equivalent for an assembly line.

Eventually, Shikamaru pulled them away to their classes despite Ron's insistence that they could afford to skive off just this once. Shikamaru pointed out that McGonagall wouldn't be impressed at all and might just take the broom back if they did - he wasn't serious, he didn't know, but it did the trick. Ron remained suitably quiet about skipping classes.

Afterwards, the other two boys wasted no time in taking the broom out to fly. Shikamaru declined the invitation and went to the Forbidden Forest. He was under a Disillusionment charm so no one saw him, and he took a minute to think as he stood in front of the line of trees. Having grown up in a village among an enormous forest, this was like coming back home. It would be familiar, training here. So he did.

For the next two hours, he practiced his weapons throwing and sparing with Kage Bunshin Henged as different people. He avoided the native creatures there, quite sure that questions would be asked if the occasional centaur he saw found a giant spider stabbed through with an unidentifiable weapon - his Kage Nui. Instead, he stuck to the tree branches and the tree trunks and worked himself into a light sweat. Then, he left the forest and headed towards the Great Lake. He did laps across the diameter of the lake for a half hour or so before spawning another Kage Bunshin to spar against. He wasn't particularly skilled with taijutsu, but Naruto had made some changes in his reign as Hokage, demanding that ninjas at least be proficient in more than two fields. Shikamaru wasn't fantastic at genjutsu either, so taijutsu came second behind ninjutsu and possibly kenjutsu. Sasuke had been put in charge of making sure anyone who made jounin could hold their own in their chosen fields alone.

The sun was setting when he lifted the charm hiding him and went back to the castle, tired but satisfied. All around a good day. The trio shot him questioning looks as he sat down next to them during dinner.

"Where have you been all afternoon?" Harry asked, eyeing his dirty and slightly torn clothes. Shikamaru shrugged nonchalantly.

"Took a walk," he said. "Cleared my head." Training had helped him with some of the stress of figuring out how to fulfill his mission so that he could get home, and to release some tension. Temari liked to call him lazy, but the truth was that he was wired just like any ninja; action calmed him and adrenaline was an ally. Ron eyed him skeptically.

"Right. A three hour walk," he repeated. Shikamaru turned to his food and the subject was dropped. After a minute, Harry said hesitantly, "Hey, Shikamaru?"

He looked up expectantly.

"I just wanted to know about the orphanage," Harry said carefully. Shikamaru slouched warily in his seat, and then made a mental note to fix the tell. It was subtle, but it was irritating to have one in the first place.

"Not much to know. It's pretty normal," he said. Well, except for the fact that it was run by bitter squibs and muggles who escaped the Statute because of family associated with the wizarding world. But he figured his orphanage wasn't the only one with prejudice against certain types of people.

"I just, I've never been to one before. I mean, if I didn't have the Dursleys then I would have gone there, right?" Harry said. Shikamaru didn't think so.

"I doubt it. You're kind of famous, in case you didn't know," he said wryly. Ron's head shot over to glare at him.

"You _do_ know who he is!" he said indignantly. Shikamaru nodded slowly.

"Yes, Ron, I know who Harry is," he said patiently.

"The why did you pretend that you didn't on the train?" Ron demanded. Oh, right. That. Shikamaru smirked slightly.

"Well, I didn't want to add to the hero worship already happening in there," he said mildly. Ron flushed and scowled at him. "Besides, did you really think anyone associated with wizards could really not know who _Harry Potter_ is? He ended the war that killed hundreds. It's pretty hard to ignore that," Shikamaru continued. "I rather think that had he not had blood relatives, anyone would have been fine adopting him. I'm a random orphan - hence the orphanage."

There was a somewhat awkward silence at this revelation. They seemed to think that the assessment was too harsh, but Shikamaru was pretty realistic about it. Why would a wizard family take in an orphan who just _happened_ have magic, and why would a muggle family take in a kid who had real life magic, along with a whole list of rules and regulations to follow?

Harry broke in, looking highly uncomfortable with the subject matter. "What's the orphanage like?" he asked curiously. Shikamaru took a moment to choose what to tell them. No doubt they wouldn't be pleased with the behavior or any social interactions he'd ever had there, and he didn't trust the therapist so it would be better not to mention him at all.

"It's alright," he said finally. "I've heard of worse. They feed us and give us rooms and clothes. I dunno. The adults are pretty busy most of the time, so it's not like there's a lot of one-on-one time." And thank God for that. He didn't like to spend any time in close proximity with the inhabitants there. Not only would they try to immaturely insult him, but they weren't particularly intelligent conversationalists. Even his therapist - two days in and Shikamaru could feel his brain cells degrade from the unsubtle attempted manipulation that was happening. He didn't know why the man tried anymore; it clearly wasn't working.

"They educate the younger children on the basics but save most of it for school," he said thoughtfully.

"Who runs it? There has to be some wizards or something if it's for magical children," Hermione asked.

"Actually, there aren't any wizards," he told her. And he would have to be very careful how he phrased this to prevent further questioning. "It's run by a mixture of relatives of muggleborns and squibs."

"What's a squib?" Harry asked curiously.

"It's like the opposite of a muggleborn. Someone who comes from a magical family but doesn't have magic," Hermione said instantly.

"I was almost a squib," Neville butted in. All eyes in the conversation turned to him. "I'm sure everyone in my family thought so except for my great uncle. _I_ thought so."

"How are squibs treated as opposed to muggleborns?" Harry asked. Shikamaru sat back, work done. The topic would inevitably bounce around back to its starting point, but by then dinner would be over and he could go to sleep. This was an interesting conversation topic though, since he didn't really know much about it. He was probably a little biased in regards to squibs, so he decided to just listen.

"I'd have to say worse," Ron answered with a slight frown. "I mean, yeah purebloods sneer at muggleborns and all, but imagine the shame they'd make their child feel if it didn't have magic."

This caused a contemplative silence. Neville looked especially uncomfortable, no doubt quite aware of what his status could have been. ' _And that,'_ Shikamaru decided, ' _is enough of that.'_ Hey, he might have used him as a convenient distraction, but he didn't want him to get depressed or anything.

"Anyone got plans for Halloween?" he asked. It wasn't like him to make small talk, let alone instigate a conversation over a holiday that he didn't even celebrate, but sacrifices for the greater good and such. Fortunately they seemed to understand.

"Not really. My parents are dentists, so they don't really approve of the entire concept of going out and begging for candy from strangers," Hermione said smoothly. Neville seemed to sigh in relief as others joined in. Shikamaru answered his grateful glance with a nod and a crooked smile.

Sometimes he was thankful to be around children - they could be more insightful than adults at times.

…

* * *

And the next day he remembered why he generally wasn't fond of children.

It started out well enough. Halloween day and the entire school was buzzing with energy. They were all looking forward to the feast at dinner. Even the dignified seventh years looked impatiently at their watches for time to end. The trio found themselves agreeing, not arguing, and generally being civil to one another during the day, something Shikamaru was incredibly thankful for.

Of course, because nothing could ever have been simple with his friends, Charms class was a disaster. It began with Ron failing every attempt at the Levitation spell and Hermione performing perfectly, and it ended with Ron's bitter comment about Hermione's lack of friends and her running off because she heard him (Shikamaru would later think this to be the most ironic day). **(1)**

Shikamaru turned around as her hair whipped around a corner.

"What the hell was that?" he asked in a deadly calm. Ron backed away; discomfort fading to shock and an edge of fear in the face of his friend's icy temper. Shikamaru reigned in his cold anger with more effort than he liked to admit. "'No friends'?" he repeated flatly. "What the fuck are we then?" The statement was made more profound by how inflectionless he made it.

Ron didn't answer, shame flashing over his face briefly. Shikamaru leveled a coolly furious glare at him. This was new. He'd never shown this much anger towards his friends before, but he couldn't help his reaction. Many of his friends had been bullied or teased or even abused as children, and he was so damn _tired_ of having people he knew get their confidence and spirits destroyed because of jealousy and fear.

He wouldn't let this fester and grow into an enormous insecurity. "Clean up your act, _Ron_ , because this is _not_ how you keep friends," he said with an undercurrent of steel in his voice. Then, he turned and left, scattering people as they registered his emotionless expression that somehow conveyed anger better than any flare of temper.

In order to keep from saying something to damage their friendship permanently, Shikamaru kept to himself for the rest of the day. It wasn't that hard to stay separated from Harry and Ron. They seemed to recognize that he wasn't in the mood for conversation, and they kept away. Neville said nothing, just sat next to him in silent support. Shikamaru appreciated it, even if he never said so.

Later, after eavesdropping on a conversation between Parvati and Lavender, he ventured stealthily to the girl's bathroom where sounds of crying could still be heard.

"Hermione?"

The crying stopped as he stepped inside. She raised her head in disbelief.

"Shikamaru?" she sputtered. "What - you can't be in here - it's a girl's bathroom!" He shrugged.

"No one else is in here, and you won't tell," he said easily. He sat down a little gingerly next to her and awkwardly put a hand on her back (he might have gone to comfort her, but he never claimed to be _good_ at it) and let her cry a bit more. After some time he asked, "How are you feeling?"

She sniffled slightly. "Better, I think. Cries always tire me out though," she admitted. He didn't really cry, so he couldn't relate. But he did understand the exhaustion from an emotional rush. She sighed. "I just...I don't understand how he could say that. Unless we aren't actually friends. I _thought_ we were, but I have misunderstood before-"

"You didn't misunderstand," Shikamaru interrupted firmly. "Ron is just a typical boy with emotional issues." She snorted.

"Are you included in that category?" she asked dryly. He raised an eyebrow at her.

"Doubly so, since I'm a genius. Didn't you know that we're socially stunted?" he told her. She giggled. "Besides, Ron probably has some attention issues, what with so many siblings and all."

"I didn't think about that. I guess it would be hard to have that many siblings," she said with a frown.

"Not that it excuses his behavior," he sighed. If he thought about it too hard it would piss him off again, so he brushed it aside for later.

"Sorry to make you miss the feast," she mumbled, wiping her face off with her robes. He shook his head and pulled out a tissue, handing it to her. She accepted gratefully.

"Don't worry about it. I don't care that much about Halloween or food," he said. He leaned back against the wall. She leaned against him and dropped her head on his shoulder. She didn't complain about his thin shoulders or his somewhat rigid body at the contact.

He breathed steadily. He relaxed. Suddenly she giggled.

"What?" he said.

"Nothing. Just, imagine if we fell asleep in here and someone found us," she said in amusement. "I'd like a picture of their faces at a boy willingly being in a girl's bathroom."

"As long as it wasn't McGonagall or Snape, I'd be okay with that," he agreed. She giggled again. They sat in silence for a bit.

"Listen, Shikamaru-" she began, but Shikamaru wasn't listening.

"Quiet," he said softly. She shut up immediately. He carefully pushed her away and got up into a crouch. He thought he'd heard someone coming towards them. He waited in silence, but no one came in.

"Shikamaru, what-" Hermione started again. Then, a troll stomped into the bathroom. And it turned to look right at them.

Hermione screamed and Shikamaru swore.

"Down!" he barked, forcing her to the ground as the troll swung its enormous club in their direction. Fortunately the rumors of troll intelligence and accuracy were true, for it missed and cracked the wall behind them instead. "Move! I'll distract it."

He shoved her towards the far wall and took out his wand.

" _Diffindo_!"

A large chunk of the troll's club cracked and broke off, but it didn't split the thing like he'd hoped.

Hermione screamed again as the troll took aim at what it gauged to be the largest threat. Shikamaru ducked and it destroyed the stall nearest to him.

"Hermione!"

Harry and Ron's timing was uncanny, Shikamaru thought. They just happened to find the largest spot of trouble and dive headfirst into it. How the hell was he supposed to keep them out of trouble if they insisted on finding it?

"Take her and go!" he said sharply, rolling out of the way of another swing. "Find a teacher and bring them here." At their hesitation, he rolled his eyes. Gryffindors and their propensity to be heroes. He supposed he was in that category now though. " _Now_!"

Finally, Harry grabbed Hermione by the arm and left. Ron stayed behind but thankfully out if the way.

"What can I do?" he asked anxiously, watching as Shikamaru took off another chunk out of the club.

"Get rid of its weapon or stay out of the way," Shikamaru ordered tightly. The problem was that troll hide was thick enough to withstand most of the spells that he knew - something he'd rectify once he got out of here. So that left…

"Troublesome," he muttered dodging left and backing up to himself a head start. He stowed his wand. When the troll struck once more and his club got stuck in the ground, he moved.

"Shikamaru, what-" Ron cut himself off in shock as Shikamaru darted forward and up the troll's trapped club, going all the up to the shoulders. Then he gracefully ducked around the swerving head and landed on the creature's shoulders, sticking solely through chakra. He crouched down to dodge another flail of an arm.

Club forgotten entirely, the troll moved about wildly, waving its arms and stumbling around. Shikamaru ignored this and stayed attached. He drew two kunai from his holster and plunged them into the creature's muscled neck. It bellowed in pain and crashed about even more. It went to ram itself into the wall, and Shikamaru jumped up and landed on its head.

In its efforts to get him off, the troll got closer to Ron and made a wild grab for him. Shikamaru flipped onto its back again, pulled out the kunai, and then drove them into its back once more. Roaring, the troll caught hold of his billowing robe - he'd always known the damn things would get him in trouble - and threw him into the wall. Because of the close quarters (and because his reflexes weren't as sharp as they shouldn't have been, something else to work on), he hit the wall and cracked both the tile and what felt like a few of his ribs.

The troll advanced menacingly on him.

"Oi! Peabrain!" Ron's desperate and scared, yet defiant voice called. Something hit the troll's head with a loud thunk. Gritting his teeth, Shikamaru stood as the troll turned, having picked up its club once more, and moved towards Ron. It started to swing. Oh, _hell_ no.

" _Kawarimi no Jutsu_!"

He made it in time. The club missed him and slammed into the floor next to him. Ron, meanwhile, gaped as he tried to figure out how he and Shikamaru had switched places. Then, as the troll raised his club again, a stroke of brilliance hit him.

" _Wingardium Leviosa_!" he shouted, brandishing his wand. The club slipped from the troll's hand and was held suspended in the air. The troll stopped to stare at it. Then, it dropped and crashed onto the beast's head, knocking it unconscious. It swayed, and then leaned decisively in Shikamaru's direction. Ah, shit.

" _Impedimenta_!"

The professors had finally arrived. About damn time.

…

* * *

Poke.

Nudge.

Cough.

Poke.

Nudge.

Sigh.

Poke.

Nu-

"Stop or I swear, you troublesome idiot," Shikamaru grumbled, opening his eyes blearily. He glared half-heartedly at Ron, who made an innocent face. "What? I'm trying to sleep."

"You slept all of yesterday," the redhead pointed out.

"Leave him alone. He faced a troll four days ago," Hermione scolded, though her lips twitched in amusement.

"But it's the weekend! This time shouldn't be used for sleeping. You're the one who wanted to come outside," Ron complained, lounging against a tree.

"It was for peace," Shikamaru said pointedly.

"Good luck with that," Harry said. Shikamaru swore they were getting cheekier by the day.

"What do we even have to talk about? We've exhausted every possible theory about the troll," he sighed.

"I dunno, but we shouldn't just-"

"Ron," Hermione said a little severely.

He stopped. She continued, "Shikamaru has spent the past four days in the Hospital Wing. Two because of the troll. The other two because he collapsed in Potions class. Remember? I think he's deserved his rest."

Ron sighed and flopped to the ground while Shikamaru didn't even bother to hide a grimace. A fit of PTSD in Potions, and he was dragged to the Hospital Wing. He didn't like it any more than an actual hospital and had been more than ready to leave.

"Yeah. Snape had to save you again," Ron snickered suddenly. Another thing. Snape had helped him twice in four days - somewhat bizarre in his and everyone else's minds.

"At least _I_ didn't try to attack him," Shikamaru said, stretching out on the ground. Ron sputtered through excuses, and Hermione and Harry chuckled.

Life was good.

* * *

 **Charms (Spells):**

 **Disillusionment Charm (Unknown Incantation): Spell used to conceal target. This makes the target act as a chameleon, taking on colors and textures of the environment to blend in.**

 **Severing Charm (Diffindo): Used to precisely and accurately cut something.**

 **Levitation Charm (Wingardium Leviosa): Spell to make things fly or levitate.**

 **Impediment Jinx (Impedimenta): A jinx that slows or stops the target.**

 **Ninjutsu (Techniques):**

 **Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Shadow Clone Technique): Creates copies of the user, splits chakra in half for each clone, and transmits memories of the clone to the user after it (they) dispel(s). B-rank, hand seals are Clone seal, or Tiger seal.**

 **Henge no Jutsu (Transformation Technique): Changes the user into other people, objects, animals, or plants. E-rank, hand seals are Dog – Boar – Ram, in that order.**

 **Kage Nui no Jutsu (Shadow Sewing Technique): Materializes shadows to attack and bind targets. The shadow is changed into multiple sharp needles and these are controlled separately. Unknown rank, seals are Rat – Bird, in that order.**

 **Kawarimi no Jutsu (Body Replacement Technique): User replaces their body with something else, generally to escape attack. E-rank, hand seals are Tiger – Boar – Ox – Dog – Snake, in that order.**

* * *

 **(1): You know, I said it was ironic, but I can't really remember why anymore. Maybe you guys understand me than I do myself?**

* * *

 **Guest Reviews for Chapter 3:**

 **NaraRiko:** **I will check it out. Thanks for the review and the suggestion! Sorry I haven't updated…**

 **IWuvYou:** **Nice name, by the way, and thanks for the review. I hope you like the recommendations. And it's okay; you are one of many who hate paperwork! Unless you don't.**

 **Ake:** **Why, hello. I was going over my reviews, and I think I missed you! So sorry! Anyway, I'm glad you like the prank; though I'm sorry I had to take it out entirely. I'll put in another one later, probably. Yes, Fred and George are great. Shikamaru and Snape will have some, er, closer moments. I think I'll do a mentor relationship thing. Glad you like my characterization of Shikamaru, and that my writing is on target. Thank you so much for this wonderful review!**

* * *

 **A/N: So, I'm back! Finally, right? Um, no excuses really. Anyway, hope you enjoyed this rewrite. As always, whatever happened in canon that didn't happen here will be mentioned later on. Below is a list of changes to chapter 3, thanks for the support and the patience. Please leave a review on your way out!**

* * *

 **RECOMMENDATIONS:** **(Gotta tell me if you like them!)**

 **Stay Standing – Windschild8178: A recently discovered and brilliant Harry Potter story concerning Ron Weasley and the other members of the Golden Trio. A darker take on what happened in the Department of Mysteries in OotP. Rated M for violence and…situations. Post DH, but before Epilogue.**

 **10 Facts – Ame Namikaze: Just a cute little oneshot about Kakashi and our favorite blond knucklehead. Rated K+, and highly recommended.**

 **Derp – HowYouDoop: Another oneshot (longer) with friendship between Sasuke and Naruto. Short and sweet, and I wish it was canon XD. Rated K.**

* * *

 _Changes to the Story in Chapter 3 (forgive me if I miss some details, but I'm focusing on the big stuff for you who care):_

Whole lotta talking between Shikamaru and the Golden Trio. Neville is more included than before.

Shikamaru goes to talk to Draco Malfoy, introducing himself to the entirety of the Slytherin common room in the process. No threats were issued, but he did hopefully provoke some thoughtfulness.

There was no prank from Fred and George because Shikamaru talked to Malfoy instead.

Shikamaru tells Harry and Ron about Snape's ability to read their thoughts.


	5. Chapter 5: Progress

_**Summary:**_ **Motivated, miffed, and magical, Shikamaru Nara was a force to behold. Whoever had placed him here was going to get it, but first he'd have to get through a school for magic. And he'd thought ninjas could be stupid. Troublesome.**

 _ **Rating:**_ **T, and should stay that way.**

 _ **Genres:**_ **Friendship, Adventure, Hurt/Comfort, maybe more, I don't know yet.**

 _ **Warnings:**_ **Language, SPOILERS FOR NARUTO AND HARRY POTTER, bullying by adults, implied child abuse/neglect, some angst, lots of non-canon shtick, Shikamaru totally has cape-envy,** **warnings are individual per chapter, might change next chapter or might not** **. No slash or yaoi, yuri, Shounen Ai, or Shōjo Ai. Or incest…just…no.**

 _ **Pairings:**_ **As far as romance goes, it's canon for both series. Friendship!Shikamaru/Harry &Ron&Hermione&Neville&Fred&George. Mentorship!Snape/Shikamaru. I might add more later, if I think of it.**

"Speech"

' _Thoughts'_

 _Emphasis on words_

 **(#) A/N at end to explain stuff**

Regular text

* * *

 **A Shadow in Wizard's Robes Chapter 5: Progress**

 **By: AngelicSilverWolf**

' _First comes thought; then organization of that thought, into ideas and plans; then transformation of those plans into reality. The beginning, as you will observe, is in your imagination.' - Napoleon Hill_

* * *

 **Age 7: Five years before Hogwarts**

"And we are _ready_."

"And you're sure this will work." Shikamaru looked at the working - hypothetically - rocket model. His friend, Dan, nodded enthusiastically.

"Yeah. I tested out so many parts, it's not even funny," he said, liberally applying duct tape.

"Parts," Shikamaru repeated. "But not the actual rocket."

"I'm sure it'll be fine. You doubting me?" Dan stood and fixed him with a frown.

"Yes," Shikamaru said flatly. Dan grinned good naturedly.

"There's my pessimistic partner in crime. But seriously, don't worry about it. It'll be fine. Now, back up unless you wanna catch on fire. Or, just in case...you know."

"In case it explodes and sends shrapnel our way." Shikamaru did back up though.

"Yeah. Which it won't, but there's gotta be _some_ safety precautions." Dan fumbled for his controller, retreating to stand beside his friend. "Alright. We're gonna be famous. Let's just take a minute to _look_ at it."

"Not too long. Someone will come to find out where we've been," Shikamaru told him. He looked all the same. It was rather messy and befitting of two genius children who could care less about the appearance on the prototype, but it was impressive all the same. It was almost completely black, but Dan had found a silver pen and written on the side, _Dan Hill and Shikamaru Nara present: Nighty Night, Bitches!_

"This is gonna be great." Dan beamed. "Alright. Count down. T minus ten, nine, eight-"

In spite of his reservations, Shikamaru was curious to see where this would go. Should it succeed, Dan would be correct in how much attention the two of them would receive. Just for safety, he ensured that he was in front of the other boy.

"-three, two, one, _blast off_!" Dan hit the button, and the tiny engines fired up. Then, it all went wrong. Of course it did. Bad luck was contagious, and Shikamaru's had apparently spread to Dan and he hadn't noticed until now.

"Oh, shit!" Dan yelped. Shikamaru's slightly slower than acceptable reflexes made him stretch out his arm to catch the enormous bar of metal streaking towards them. Because he was too slow, he just barely missed it. It didn't hit him either way.

He looked in fascination at the metal held suspended by…

Magic. Must've been . First time he'd used it so purposefully though.

"What the hell!"

Shikamaru was shoved from behind, losing his invisible grip on the bar in the process. It clattered to the ground as he turned around. Dan looked incensed and...fearful. Shikamaru stilled. He knew that look. Recognized it as the same expression that the villagers used to cast towards Naruto. In this way, he also knew that nothing short of metaphorically saving the village a few times would prevent the confrontation that was coming.

"You're one of _them_?" Dan spat furiously.

"Whom?" Shikamaru asked carefully.

"A-a magical - a _freak_!" Dan backed away. A shout redirected Shikamaru's attention, and he saw multiple adults from the orphanage rushing towards them and their flaming rocket wreckage. Excellent timing, as always.

"Dan! Are you alright?" one of them called. Shikamaru could never be bothered to remember their names. Dan didn't answer.

"You! This is your fault," another accused, pointing at Shikamaru. He slouched insolently.

"It was a joint effort," he drawled. Actually, it had been Dan's idea. But he wasn't going to pour more gas on the fire.

"Is this true? Dan?" Another - relatively fairer - adult asked, turning to the silent child. Dan said nothing for a minute, and then his face twisted in distaste. Shikamaru mentally sighed. There went that friendship then (and he pretended that it didn't hurt just a little).

"As if I'd work with a freak like him," Dan sneered. Shikamaru smirked and his eyes narrowed. The nearby adults instinctively retreated a step.

"For a genius, you sure are good at playing the spoiled child," he said archly. Forget oil and fire, this brat needed the same lesson that the villagers had. Dan scowled - along with the orphanage staff.

"Mr. Nara!" one admonished. Shikamaru shrugged languidly.

"No use getting mad. I'll just leave so that my freakishness doesn't _accidentally_ spread," he said lazily. Without another word, he spun around and walked away.

He would later find out that Dan's parents had been murdered by a Death Eater. The similarities between this situation and Naruto's were almost humorous.

Dan was adopted shortly after the incident, and the two never spoke again.

…

* * *

 **Present:**

"Oi! Get up already."

Shikamaru was ripped from his slumber quite rudely. He opened his eyes to see Ron peering down at him. He groaned and turned back over. The _one_ time he got to sleep in after actually sleeping through the night. These kids would kill him someday, he swore.

"What?" he asked grumpily when Ron jabbed him in the back. Thankfully he'd removed all of his equipment except for an emergency kunai the previous night.

"There's some people who want to talk to you," Ron said, not sounding particularly happy about it. Shikamaru thought about it.

"Are they teachers?" he asked.

"No."

"Then tell them that it's Sunday, and therefore it's my day off, so they can just fu-"

"It's a group of Slytherin first years," Harry interjected. Shikamaru stopped. And sighed. He'd probably have to actually get up for this. Son of a bitch.

"Fine," he said to his pillow. Fine. He sat up and changed into suitable clothes. He didn't know why they were supposed to wear robes even on the weekends, but every school had its illogical rules. It was probably more influenced by the culture of the people rather than any sensible dress code reasoning.

"Take me to your leader," he muttered under his breath as he followed Ron and Harry out of the dorm.

"What?" Ron asked. Shikamaru shook his head.

"Nothing." He occasionally missed the times when people would understand his references.

"Here he is. Are you bloody happy?" Ron said in a slightly irritated tone.

"Thrilled," Blaise Zabini answered coolly. He eyed Harry and Ron with barely hidden distaste. "You can go now. We only want to talk to him."

Before either Harry or Ron could protest out of some misguided gesture of protectiveness, Shikamaru stepped in. "Let's go," he said. He picked a direction and started walking.

"Where are we going?" Theodore Nott drawled. Shikamaru shrugged.

"Somewhere else." After a couple minutes, he abruptly halted and turned to face them. "Alright. What's important enough for you to go out of your way to talk to me on the weekend?"

The three Slytherins shared a glance, and then turned back to him with unreadable expressions.

"You see," Zabini said slowly, "we don't like to be in debt. It's a pain, and personally I would rather just pay it off as soon as possible."

"Point is, tell us what you want," Nott interjected shortly. He seemed to be a boy of few words. Shikamaru eyed them speculatively. This was for when he stepped in during that confrontation between them and the Ravenclaws, then.

"I was going to ask for a favor whenever I needed one," he began. They noticeably tensed. He guessed they didn't like people telling them what to do. "But I can think of something better for now," he finished. They didn't relax, but their shoulders went down a notch.

"What?" Bulstrode asked warily. He let his mouth twitch into a slight smile.

"I want you three to gather some non-associates of Flint and Malfoy. I'll meet you and whoever you choose in the library tomorrow after classes. I'll let you know there," he told them.

"Can't tell us now?" Nott looked supremely unimpressed. Shikamaru shrugged.

"I'm not giving a trio of Slytherins more information than I have to," he said. It was both a backhanded compliment and a statement of caution. He didn't trust them, but also recognized what they were capable of. Judging by the considering gleams in their eyes, they knew.

"Say we don't show up," Zabini said suddenly. "What then?"

Shikamaru had suspected he'd get the most trouble out of this boy. Nott just wasn't liable to give a shit, and Bulstrode was halfway decent. Zabini, however, was more Slytherin than anyone Shikamaru knew, save for maybe Professor Snape. Shikamaru's eyes fell to half mast, and his smile turned into a sharp smirk.

"Then I guess you owe me," he said simply. Zabini paused, read the meanings there, and then nodded.

"Fine. We'll be there. But this had better be for a good reason, Nara," he warned. He nodded at his companions, and they left. Shikamaru sighed. And now to gather the rest of the pieces. Who to hit first? Meh, he'd get the badgers. They seemed to be the most easygoing out of the four houses.

With a huff, he turned and started for the Gryffindor common room. Harry and Ron were probably working themselves up, and dragging Hermione and Neville into it as well. He'd just started on the last set of stairs, when he heard a voice.

"Mr. Nara."

Shikamaru stopped and turned to see Professor Snape behind him. The man reminded him of an abnormally large bat - dark, imposing, and dangerous in close quarters.

"Professor?" he said.

"I take it that Mr. Potter didn't tell you?" Professor Snape asked, black eyes cold and unwelcoming.

"Tell me what, sir?"

"...You have a detention with me tonight for missing class. Be there at eight o'clock, and bring potions supplies," the professor said coolly. Then, he turned on his heel and swept away, cloak billowing out behind him impressively.

Shikamaru would figure out how to do that some day. It was probably a charm.

…

* * *

He knocked on the heavy wooden door.

"Enter."

Professor Snape didn't look up when he did so, but he did point to a desk near the front of the room.

"Sit."

Shikamaru sat. The silence dragged on, and he was just wondering whether this was supposed to be some sort of power play, when the man stood up.

"You're advanced abilities in class are signs of higher comprehension," he began. Shikamaru wasn't sure if that was a compliment or a fact. "Tonight you will show me how far ahead you are capable of going. Prepare the most advanced potion you know. Feel free to use the stores in my cupboard if necessary."

Shikamaru thought for a moment. He'd better go with Draught of Peace. A fifth year potion that was a bit of a pain to make. It was also one of the ones he had yet to tweak due to its precise measures and unfortunate consequences should it be brewed wrong. He gathered the ingredients and spent the next hour or so making it in silence. He turned his thoughts to the Slytherins, leaving half of his mind for the potion.

He had talked to the Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws. He... hadn't decided on Gryffindors yet. As great as his house was, they weren't the most subtle. All the other houses could be counted on for discretion. In battle terms, the houses represented the military forces like this: Gryffindors were like the front line men, the infantry, the foot soldiers; the Hufflepuffs were like the support with medicine, messengers, communications, and public outreach; the Ravenclaws the logistics, the strategists, the commanders behind the lines making sure everything went smoothly, the ones researching new tactics to ensure victory; and the Slytherins were like the shadow force, the assassins, the infiltrators, the scouts, the ones who went into enemy lines and brought them down from the inside. This all meant that Gryffindor would probably only need to be pointed in a direction to shoot, metaphorically of course.

But did that mean they should've been left out? Shikamaru rolled the problem around in his mind as he finished the potion. He handed it in, perfect like expected. He didn't know. Obviously it would've been advantageous to have some housemates in the meeting, but whom?

His thoughts were interrupted by Snape.

"So, Mr. Nara. What caused your collapse in class?" the man asked.

Shikamaru thought for a very fast moment on what to say. He obviously couldn't just come out and say that Goyle had managed to replicate the sound of a tailed beast almost perfectly. He didn't know how, but the boy was worse than Neville at potion making. For all of his issues, at least Neville didn't create _life_ with his potions. Goyle's potion had startled him enough to let the memories slip through, and then it had devolved into chaos - in his mind anyway - from there. His efforts of keeping his flashback from overwhelming him, restraining his magic and other instincts, and ensuring Neville remained calm had all mixed together and had caused his mind to give up and his body to follow suit. Thus proving that Goyle's powers of inadequacy were simply beyond comprehension.

But Snape was waiting not-so patiently.

"I had a flashback, sir," he said simply. Snape raised an eyebrow.

"I know that. I'm not dull," he said with a sneer. "But what would you have a flashback _of_?"

Well, Shikamaru thought that was a personal question he had no business asking, 'concerned' professor or not. Besides. What was he supposed to say? _Sorry, sir, my memories of an enormous being made of a foreign energy flooded my mind before I could lock them down because of your student's alarming ability to create something living out of a potion. And did I mention that these memories are from a different life?_

Ha. No.

"Goyle's... unorthodox-" and by that he meant completely ridiculous "-potion brought up a flashback of…" Hm. Maybe he'd start a different way. "You ever been in a war, sir?"

Snape's eyes sharpened. "Once," he replied shortly. _And once was enough_ , went unsaid. Shikamaru let his expression lose the regular apathetic of its norm, leaving him looking decades older. Leaving him looking like the war veteran he was. Snape's eyes narrowed, visibly trying to fit the pieces together.

"Yeah. That's about what it brought up for me," Shikamaru said quietly. He turned and walked out without being dismissed.

He was done answering questions that his professor hadn't earned the answers to.

…

"Hurry up, Shikamaru! We're going to be late!" Ron hollered up the stairs. Shikamaru sighed irritably and tied his holster on. He exited the room and found the redhead anxiously shifting on his feet. Hermione and Neville also stood beside him, but both looked much calmer.

"Does it really matter if we get there five minutes late?" Shikamaru questioned, half teasing. "All we'd miss is the handshake and maybe a goal or two."

Ron looked scandalized. He didn't even deign to answer. He just marched out of the common room, duty as a friend apparently completed.

"You shouldn't wind him up so much," Hermione whispered as they followed at a more sedate pace. Shikamaru tossed her a smirk.

"But he makes it so easy," he said. She withheld a smile and shook her head. Despite Ron's complaints, they arrived at the match with plenty of time to spare. And by that, Shikamaru had literally just sat down when Madame Hooch blew her whistle.

"And they're OFF!" Lee Jordan exclaimed into the microphone. "Gryffindor takes the Quaffle!"

Shikamaru would have spent this game like any other. Completely ignoring the going-ons while his brain summoned a few other things to think about. He would have spent the entire time in a haze of both bored apathy and mind-melting thought trains except-

Harry's broom was no longer under his control, and Shikamaru had seen where it had come from.

"Go knock over Quirrell," he said to Hermione. She was the best bet. Ron's hair was too noticeable, and Neville would probably knock over the wrong person. She gave him a startled look even as Harry's broom started to roll over.

"What? But, Snape-" she began. So she had noticed. Good girl. But it was the wrong target.

"Trust me. I'll explain after." Hell, she could've knocked them both over. As long as she managed to fit Quirrell in there somehow, he didn't care. And he now had a test subject for his group this afternoon.

Right after he got Harry off of that damned vehicle of death, of course. **(1)**

…

* * *

Harry was fine. Shaken and elated simultaneously, but fine. Good, because they had other things to focus on.

"Shikamaru, why did you have me go after Quirrell? It was Snape - I know cursing signs. He was showing all of them! He wasn't blinking, he was muttering under his breath - and his wand was out!" Hermione ignored Hagrid's sputters of surprise and mild indignation. So did Shikamaru.

"Yes, Hermione, I'm aware. But those are signs of _counter_ cursing as well. Besides, didn't you see Quirrell? He was doing the same thing. Only difference is, when you interrupted him, Harry's broom stopped spinning," he said patiently. Her frown deepened in thought and she started to pace.

"But why would Quirrell go after Harry?" Ron asked from where Fang was drooling on his lap. "Everyone knows it's Snape who hates him."

"Exactly," Shikamaru said, at the same time that Hermione's eyes widened in realization. It was nice to have another smart friend around.

"Oh," she breathed. "But - that's _genius_ if it's true."

"No one would suspect," he agreed.

"Care to fill the rest of us in?" Ron asked dryly.

"If you were to target someone, how would you do it? Not by making yourself a suspect. Why bother when there's already one lying around?" Shikamaru said, slouching further in his seat. _And Snape and probably Dumbledore know - God knows who else. This goes deep. But why Harry?_

It wasn't personal, he was decently sure. Quirrell might have been a good actor, but one couldn't hide hate. At least, not from a master shogi player/strategist that read people on a daily basis as a survival habit. Quirrell was indifferent at best, and certainly not openly antagonistic like Snape. So what was his game?

He tuned back into the conversation in time to hear Ron call Quirrell a slimey bastard.

"Not that I don't agree, but what brought this on?" he asked mildly.

"Hagrid mentioned that Quirrell's been acting strange since he got back from his expeditions," said Harry, who'd been surprisingly quiet. Shikamaru turned to Hagrid pensively. The tall man unconsciously straightened under the scrutiny.

"Alright." He had decided. "Today probably won't be an isolated incident, which means we need to stop Quirrell before he does permanent damage. Harry was lucky that Snape was there and that Quirrell either can't plan well, or just wasn't trying that hard today."

"Well, the teachers-" Hermione started hesitantly.

Ron cut in impatiently, "The teachers clearly know that something is going on. Why else would Snape interfere like that? I think we all know he'd be pretty happy if Harry had a 'Quidditch accident', but someone told him to stop it if something suspicious happened. Besides that though, they aren't actively doing anything to stop it. Which is why we should do something." He turned to Shikamaru. "That's what you were going to say, right?"

Shikamaru's lips quirked up. "Thanks for stealing my thunder, Ron," he said dryly. The redhead crossed his arms and frowned.

"You were too slow." Ah, the patience of youth.

Shikamaru rolled his eyes and turned to Hagrid. "Can we use your place as a base of sorts? You know everything we know." Probably more than, actually. The man puffed his chest out proudly.

"O' course!" Then he paused uncertainly and added, "Er, well, tha' is if you promise ter be careful."

"Between my propensity for analysis and Ron's ability to strategize decently, I think we'll work something out that won't be too dangerous," Shikamaru said a little wryly. He'd helped plan a war on multiple fronts. Investigating a clear amateur assassin in a school environment with teachers just around the corner and a seemingly omniscient headmaster would be cake. "It's strictly investigation anyways." At least, that the Idiot Trio would know about. He'd personally go about it differently with the meeting this afternoon. Which they _wouldn't_ know about.

His indifferent demeanor vanished suddenly, and he looked at his friends seriously. They looked back, surprised at the change. He had to admit that he didn't often show this side of himself around them. He'd been lax since he got here. Clearly he'd need to do better.

"If we're going to do this, we're doing it right. That means next to no actual risks. All moves will be planned ahead, and they will have backups. We'll need to get some outside help, and if anything starts to go wrong we tell a professor. Agreed?" he said. It wasn't really a question. It was non-negotiable. Whatever Quirrell was up to wasn't worth their safety. Harry would be fine in a school this big. The portraits could talk, and there were students everywhere.

"Alright," Ron agreed a tad reluctantly.

"Good. Ron, you can help me strategize. Hermione, the teachers mostly love you, so you can be the one to subtly get information from them. Harry...try not to be caught alone. Go places with company - it doesn't have to be one of us either. Someone from Gryffindor or a professor would be best, if you can," Shikamaru listed. Ron looked surprised.

"Really? I get to help strategize?" he asked. Shikamaru nodded.

"You have a decent grasp on advanced chess plays. Those can be applied to real life with some work," he explained. He asked Hagrid for some parchment and a quill. He'd need to write things down for this. Especially if the meeting this afternoon went the way he'd planned

"W-wait! Can't I say something about this?" Harry burst in, looking a little incensed.

"No," Shikamaru said without looking up. Ron snickered and Hermione sighed. Shikamaru continued to write and added plainly, "You'd tell us not to risk it and I already have effort invested, so I don't want to hear it."

Ron guffawed and Hermione made a cut-off sound of amusement. Shikamaru raised his eyes to see Harry looking mildly offended. He bit back a grin.

"I wasn't going to say that," Harry protested. "I was just going to ask if I could do something more than 'stay safe'."

"Sure you were," Ron sniggered.

"We're trying to keep you out of trouble," Shikamaru said with a sigh. "For now laying low is best. I'll probably come up with something for you later on. It depends on what Quirrell does and what we find out."

"So where do we start?" Hermione interjected, casting a sideways glance at Harry's disappointed and slightly mutinous expression.

"Research," Shikamaru said, standing up and looking down at his shorthanded list of things that had jumped to his mind. "We should find out as much as we can about Quirrell."

"Any idea where can begin, Hagrid?" Hermione turned to their silent spectator. He scratched his beard thoughtfully.

"Well, Professor Quirrell sort o' disappeared off the face o' the earth before he accepted the job at Hogwarts. And when he came back, he wasn' really the same," he said. "I dunno what happened to 'im, but he wasn' the man that left."

"Where did he travel?" Shikamaru asked, at the same time that Harry said, "How was he different?"

"Professor Quirrell traveled 'round the world. He went and found a bit o' trouble in Southeastern Europe. I reckon he didn' know what he was doin'. Was the first time he got hands-on experience, see, and I don' think he was prepared for what his craft offered. As for how he changed - well, from what little I knew o' him back then, Professor Quirrell was quiet but didn' stutter none when he talked. He was an ambitious man at tha' time. Wanted ter know everything there was to know about whatever caught his interest. Now he won't even crack open a book," Hagrid said. "S'almost like he's a different person now."

"Has anyone checked to see if he's an imposter?" Hermione asked tentatively. Hagrid waved a large hand dismissively.

"Nah. Professor Dumbledore woulda' seen through any disguise," he assured them. That was enough for her, Ron, and Harry, but Shikamaru had long since learned not to take anything at face value. Not to say that he didn't trust the headmaster but...well, no, he didn't really trust him. In his defense, he usually didn't trust people until meeting them for the first time. Besides, he'd read all about the man before coming to Hogwarts. While he had many honors and titles, Shikamaru couldn't dismiss his brief friendship and partnership with Gellert Grindelwald, one of the most dangerous Dark Wizards in all of wizarding history.

"We should try and find out what happened during his travels," Ron suggested.

"But how?" Harry frowned. "It's not like wizards have an international information system."  
"I'll see if I can get some newspapers from where we know he went," Hermione said thoughtfully. "It doesn't necessarily have to be wizard news. Muggles report about strange things even if they don't understand them."

"And I'll get some outside help," Shikamaru concluded. He surveyed their excited expressions and felt a spike of pride in spite of the headache this was gearing up to be.

Ah, well, what was life without a little pain?

…

* * *

"Where's your trio of followers?"

These were the first words to greet Shikamaru when he stepped into the library with Neville and Percy Weasley in tow. From three very clearly separated tables, members from the other three houses looked over at him. Blaise, the one who had spoken, sat with Theodore Nott, Millicent Bulstrode, Daphne Greengrass and Tracey Davis. Ernie Macmillan sat with his housemates Susan Bones and Cedric Diggory, talking quietly amongst themselves. They were the only ones to greet Shikamaru in an amicable manner. At the last table sat Terry Boot, Anthony Goldstein, and Marcus Belby.

"You're here at last!" Ernie said in relief. "Now, perhaps you can explain what this is about? You weren't too clear with your initial explanation."

"My question first, Macmillan," Blaise drawled. He aimed a pointed look in Shikamaru's direction. "Where's the Golden Trio?"

(Little did Shikamaru know that this name would catch on, otherwise he would have tried his hardest to stop such a ridiculous epithet from spreading.)  
"They won't be coming," he said easily. "They don't know about this meeting." Blaise raised his eyebrows with mockingly polite incredulity.

"So you can be separated from your people," Nott cut in condescendingly, "fascinating. Care to explain why we're here?"

"On the surface, and with the approval of the heads of houses and Professor Dumbledore, this is an inter-house study group. The first in school history, actually." Shikamaru paused as several people made their displeasure known. They graciously allowed for him to finish. "In reality though, we might study later, but for now we'll actually be an information group. Our subject is why Professor Quirrell is so suspicious. Therefore, we'll be researching him a bit."

"Is that it?" Nott asked with a sneer. "If we wanted to look into shady professors, we could do that on our own time." He stood up.

"Sit _down_ , Nott," Shikamaru said flatly. "I'm not done." Nott froze and seemed to internally debate. A nod from Blaise had him slowly sitting again. "In addition to research, we'll be schooling ourselves on Defense Against the Dark Arts. Professor Quirrell isn't teaching us what we need to know. His class period is effectively a waste of time."

"That's all very well and good," Ernie Macmillan interjected, "but we have different years here. Surely first years aren't on the level of, say, fourth years." He nodded at Percy.

"Maybe Hufflepuffs aren't," Blaise said smoothly. "In Slytherin house, however, we pride ourselves on furthering our knowledge."

"Interesting, I thought they prided themselves on just about everything," Susan Bones said mildly. He smirked at her.

"We have a lot of talents, love," he leered. She rolled her eyes.

"Ernie, you're correct about the different levels," Shikamaru acknowledged, ignoring the byplay. He didn't want anything to do with it; really, he was just here to create what he planned to be a future information hub. He had not signed on to be a diplomat between the houses. That was shaping up to be an endless and painful headache. "But the few older years I've talked to say that Quirrell might as well be holding them back a year for the information he gives them. Besides, I needed some older, more responsible students here in order for the professors to agree. Percy is a Prefect, and Diggory is the school's actual Golden Boy."

His mouth quirked up in amusement at that. People tended to accuse Harry of being the idol and popularity focus, but Cedric Diggory was far more well-liked and well-known than Harry. Not surprising, really. Cedric came off as a bit more... charismatic, while Harry tended to be rather socially awkward at times.

"Besides. With this inter-house study group, the older years will have access to resources they didn't have before," he continued. He let them think it over. "Aside from the Slytherins, all of you knew why you were coming here. And I didn't tell you-" here he directed his eyes to the Snakes "-because I wanted you to actually show up."

They seemed to grudgingly respect this.

"You're free to go, if you want, but this covers the favor you owe me," he concluded. They held a silent conversation. While they did that, Diggory looked curiously at Percy.

"I'm surprised you're here," he confessed. "I thought you wouldn't like investigating a teacher like this."

Percy seemed to puff up. "Yes, well, if there is a professor harming student education, it is the duty of us Prefects - and of anyone in charge - to see that such actions are ended," he said a little haughtily. Shikamaru bit back an amused huff at Diggory's bemused but unoffended expression. At least he had one person who didn't seem to mind Percy's eccentricities.

"Alright, Nara," Blaise said suddenly, "we'll play your game. But after this, we're through, deal? We help you catch Quirrell, and we don't owe you. Any of us."

Shikamaru let his amusement show with a slouch and an indolent smirk. "Sure. As you say," he agreed. Blaise's expression turned calculating.

"Excellent. Where do we start, then?" he asked. Shikamaru was a bit thrown by the sudden shift in mood, but didn't let it distract him.

"I thought we'd begin with…"

…

* * *

Shikamaru surveyed his "study group" and felt a flare of pride somewhere deep inside. The Slytherin's were actually deigning to interact with the other houses, handing off valuable information like it was nothing. The Ravenclaws were interspersed throughout the tables, using their keen intellects to problem-solve and troubleshoot. The Hufflepuffs kept everything moving smoothly with impressive diplomacy. Diggory in particular helped keep conflicts from arising.

And the Gryffindors were holding their own. Percy managed to hold a modicum of respect that clearly pleased him, and Neville hung out with the nicer members - something Shikamaru had done on purpose to get his friend's abysmal self-esteem to acceptable levels. And Shikamaru himself was overseeing the entire thing. He didn't know when he'd tell Ron, Harry, and Hermione, but he could deal with that later. For now, it was enough to see progress.

* * *

 **Ninjutsu (Techniques):**

 **Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Shadow Clone technique):** **Creates copies of user, splits chakra in half for each clone, and transmits memories of clone to user after it dispels. B-rank, hand seals are Clone seal or Tiger seal. (Mentioned).**

* * *

 **(1): Shikamaru doesn't like flying or anything associated with it. Ha.**

* * *

 **Guest Reviews for Chapter 4 (Bottom to Top):**

 **Guest:** **I used to think that way, but after multiple emphatic reviews, I can safely say that I've been convinced otherwise. Thanks for the support and review!**

 **Wanderer13:** **It seems I never answered your review. Most sincere apologies! I don't mean to ignore anyone. Anyway, yes. Shikamaru is awesome, and he will have a far greater impact than anyone except us readers/writers will ever know - unless there's some fourth wall breakage, which there won't be. I understand your hesitations with Lupin and his status, and that will come up, but I...don't really have a solution for it yet. Hopefully I'll get one by the time it becomes an issue, because I can completely see how that would be a problem.**

 **To tell you the truth, I'm really excited for every book after the second one, no matter how much we need it to set up the plot. Lupin will definitely be a professor. Thank you so much for this glorious review!**

 **NatNicole:** **Thank you, thank you. And, now, because I've re-written the chapter, I'm not entirely certain what you're talking about with Ron...sorry I didn't get to answering your review before now. Thank you so much for your review.**

 **Ake** **: No action! We need some plot, yeah? Besides, who needs action when you have *gasp* Slytherins? Yes, Ron's time to shine as a partner-in-strategy, though now because of my edits, Shikamaru's going to be managing two groups of people. Oh dear! So, Shikamaru does look like himself. Basically his body regressed completely, only to grow in the same fashion it did in Naruto. But his mind is untouched - or so we think so far *wink, wink*. And the rebirth and stuff will be explained! Eventually. As for the troll snot...sorry. I just thought, when reading through the books, that that part was particularly gross and didn't bear repeating. Sorry! Anyway, thanks for the great review!**

* * *

 **A/N: Hello! As we can see, I've changed a few things. Important things. So. And I've taken a very long time for this. Apologies. My friend's been breathing fire down my neck, but it hasn't really helped my writer's block. Sorry again. If it makes you feel better, she's making me suffer for my delay. Hope you like or at least respect the changes! Drop off a review if you don't mind, and have an excellent foreseeable future!**

* * *

 **RECOMMENDATIONS:** **(Tell me if you like them and if you have any to recommend yourselves!"**

 **Effloresco Secondus – romantiscue: A crossover where Hermione has been reborn as Sakura! A very different Team Seven and a bit more realistic. No romance. There is character progression (love that in stories). Rated M – sorry! Again! No sex, but violence and intense situations. Just a warning.**

 **One Eye, Full of Wisdom – MrBright01: A brilliant take on a more serious Kakashi and the resulting Team Seven. Team Seven centric, and there is no bias or bashing. It's a beautiful story with no romance. The author has a brilliant mind for strategy, you'll see what I mean if you read it. Rated T, for once.**

* * *

 _Changes to the story in Chapter 4 (forgive me if I miss some details, but I'm focusing on the big stuff for those of you who care):_

Names are mentioned during the childhood scene, and it is confirmed that ex-Death Eaters are behind Shikamaru's "therapy". Also, there's mention of a prophecy.

Shikamaru establishes that he does, in fact, know who Harry Potter is.

During the troll scene, Shikamaru sends Hermione and Harry off to find teachers because he finds himself cornered by the troll. Ron remains and tries to help. Snape saves the day by preventing the troll from falling on Shikamaru.


	6. Chapter 6: Just a Lot too Much

**Summary: Motivated, miffed, and magical, Shikamaru Nara was a force to behold. Whoever had placed him here was going to get it, but first, he'd have to get through a school for magic. And he'd thought ninjas could be stupid. Troublesome.**

 **Rating: T, and should stay that way.**

 **Genres: Friendship, Adventure, Hurt/Comfort, maybe more, I don't know yet.**

 **Warnings: Language, implied/mentioned child abuse/neglect, whoa…angst ahead, non-canon stuff going on in here, near panic-attack, probably some OOCness,** **warnings are individual per chapter, might change next chapter or might not** **. No slash or yaoi, yuri, Shounen Ai, or Shōjo Ai. Or incest…just…no**

 **Pairings: As far as romance goes, it's canon for both series. Friendship!Shikamaru/Harry &Ron&Hermione&Neville&Fred&George. Mentorship!Snape/Shikamaru. Hinted Parental!Lupin/Shikamaru. I might add more later if I think of it.**

 **Disclaimer: I forgot to put one in the last chapter…so I'll do it now! Please stop throwing legal books at me. I DON'T OWN ANYTHING! Only the plunny.**

"Speech"

 _Emphasis on words/thoughts_

 **(#) A/N at end to explain stuff**

Regular text

* * *

 **A Shadow in Wizard's Robes Chapter 6: Just A Lot Too Much**

 **By: AngelicSilverWolf**

 _'The power of one, if fearless and focused, is formidable, but the power of many working together is better.' – Gloria Macapagal Arroyo_

* * *

 **Age 8: Three years before Hogwarts**

Shikamaru inspected the volumes before him. Not really what he was looking for, but he supposed that he would be hard-pressed to find what he wanted in a third-hand store. It wasn't like he couldn't take these concepts and apply them to what he actually wanted to learn...but he just didn't want to. And so, laziness struck again.

"Those books aren't very reliable, you know," a voice said from behind him. Shikamaru turned, suppressing a violent reaction that would have gone over _very_ badly, and saw none other than Remus Lupin looking at him.

"Mr. Lupin," he greeted, "what a surprise to see you here." Though, considering that Diagon Alley appeared to be the only magical shopping complex in the area, maybe it shouldn't have been. Lupin smiled slightly at him.

"Just Lupin is fine," he said. "Or even Remus." Shikamaru inclined his head. Lupin studied him for a moment, and then said, "I'm surprised you still remember me. It's been two years since our very brief meeting."

Shikamaru shrugged. "Could say the same about you. As for me... I've got a perfect memory, and you're one of the less troublesome adults that I've met in the past eight years. Ergo, I remember you." By less troublesome, he meant that Lupin wasn't a complete idiot that let personal prejudices get in the way of treating a person with common courtesy. Maybe Lupin understood that for his smile faded slightly.

"That is unfortunate," he said. Then, he brightened again. "Tell me, why are you looking at these books? I know many better ways to have people lose all of their hair than a suspicious spell like this." He gestured at the book Shikamaru was holding, which did indeed detail a complicated spell to rid a person of all their body hair.

Shikamaru scratched the back of his head. "Ah. No, I was checking out the Transfiguration involved to see if I could apply the concepts elsewhere. Not necessarily...baldness," he admitted. More conveniently - turning it into a way of disguise. Lupin's expression shifted in realization.

"Perhaps, then, I was too soon to assume that there was a budding prankster in you," he said with a faint smile. Shikamaru tilted his head.

"Not necessarily." He left it at that. Lupin's smile turned a bit conspiratorial.

"I see." He was silent for a minute, and then- "Take a walk with me. We can get lunch. I'll wait if you want the books."

Shikamaru shook his head. "Don't have the money." And if he did, he wouldn't spend it on books like these. Well. Technically he had the money, but it wasn't in the budget for the foreseeable future (five years or so).

Lupin nodded like he understood the monetary problems of an eight-year-old, and they left the store. As they walked in comfortable silence, Shikamaru remembered a thought he'd had two years ago - that Lupin was just an incredibly easy person to be around. It was remarkable how relaxed Shikamaru found himself.

"Tell me how you're doing," Lupin said, leading the way to a small restaurant. "What's new?"

"I'll spare you two years worth of details," Shikamaru said wryly. At Lupin's chuckle, he considered how to summarize the past two years. Where to start… "Well, I got a therapist," he said casually.

Somewhat disconcertingly, Lupin flipped from laid-back amusement to intense concern. He seemed to understand the job description of a therapist. It was a first, certainly.

"Did something happen?" Lupin asked. Why he had such concern for a near stranger - they had met twice, including now - was over Shikamaru's head, but he did... appreciate it a bit.

"Not really. But it's been building for awhile," he said. As in, the last eight years of his life. "They-" being the orphanage adults "want a reason to pack me off to an asylum." Or, 'A special place for special people,' in the words of a particularly spiteful woman.

Lupin frowned.

"That's not right," he said. "They shouldn't be able to do that." Shikamaru shrugged philosophically.

"It is what it is. I've read up on wizarding rules and regulations, and children don't have a whole lot of rights; abuse is ignored and can be hidden easily with magic. **(1)** I just have a few paranoid adults to deal with," he said. Lupin frown deepened slightly.

"You still shouldn't have to lie. Is there any way to prove that you're mentally sound?" he insisted. Shikamaru let a sigh escape. He wished. How he missed the simple days, when he'd just had Temari, Shikadai, and Naruto to worry about.

But anyway.

It probably said something that he considered the days spent with Konoha's Most Unpredictable Ninja to be 'simple'.

"If it were that easy, I would have done it long ago. They don't like me and so they want to prove me clinically insane. They just want to push me off onto an asylum or something," he said simply.

"Is it that bad?" Lupin asked quietly. Shikamaru gave him a startled - for him - glance.

"Not really. They aren't physical or anything; they just...prefer to pretend that I don't exist. They also ward other kids away from me, but since most of the other kids there are brainless anyway, I try not to interact with them. Stupidity is contagious. The situation itself isn't too bad; it's just that the therapist gets on my nerves every time he visits - which is about three times a week. I think the number is actually increasing," Shikamaru mused. Well, actually, now that he thought about it, he saw how that could be alarming to someone who didn't know him.

"Neglect is still a form of abuse," Lupin said. Shikamaru stopped walking. Lupin continued for a few steps, checked himself, and stopped. He turned around.

Processing.

Error.

"They aren't abusing me," Shikamaru denied. Lupin said nothing. "Really. I'm fine. I don't care what they do so long as they give me food." Which, he knew, was not nearly enough for a growing child. "They house me," Shikamaru continued methodically, heedless of the sympathetic expression growing on Lupin's face. Well, in the loosest sense of the word they did. "They clothe me," Shikamaru said trying to retain his nonchalant attitude as the dots connected. By the understanding look in Lupin's eyes, he wasn't succeeding in being casual.

"It's not..." he trailed off. He took a deep, even breath - and then another two in rapid succession.

 _Remember - count to ten, and then backward, and repeat until you're calm,_ a voice that sounded eerily like Temari's advised.

So, he stopped and forced his breathing to calm, counting mentally just like he'd been instructed. He reached a relative equilibrium and pulled his neutral expression back on, but he didn't like how it felt forced. This really shouldn't be upsetting him so much. If anything, he should have been annoyed that he hadn't made the connection sooner. But, he wasn't.

Logically. he knew that his 'caretakers' hadn't been treating him really great. He also knew the signs of abuse. Somehow, he had never really put the two together. A hand landed on his shoulder, causing him to look up. Lupin was looking down at him with slight concern. Shikamaru knew what he would see:

slanted brown eyes that were blown wide at the pupil, struggling to retain their uncaring appearance, a paler complexion than usual, and a clenched jaw. Why was he reacting so strongly to this? He knew what abuse was, and sure, he should have identified it, but it wasn't actually that big of a shock now that he had processed it. The orphanage adults treated him like dirt, end of story. Or, well, it should have been.

"I apologize," Lupin said quietly. "I didn't mean to upset you." Shikamaru pulled away. No further sign of being emotional disturbance save for unsteady breathing and a changed face pallor - good.

"I'm not upset," he muttered, inwardly wincing at the obvious lie. Ino would have had his ass. Lupin didn't call him out on it. "I should have seen it. I'm an idiot."

"Don't say that," Lupin said sternly. "Many children don't know about or don't want to acknowledge any abuse happening to them."

"No offense to normal people, but I'm a bit more intelligent than them," Shikamaru said in a poor parody of his normal drawling tone. "I should have guessed or something. I've seen abuse in action, both physical and emotional. I don't know why I didn't see it sooner."

Images of a hurt and lonely Naruto filled his mind. Did Shikamaru look that sad now? So broken and...needy? Was that what Lupin was seeing? The thought made him rebel somewhat. He was many things, cowardly, smart, sarcastic - but needy? In denial? He was logical enough to know when something was true or not. Or, he had thought he was.

"Stop it. You're treating yourself like an adult. You may be more intelligent than most, but you're still young," Lupin told him firmly, ignoring the tone with apparent ease. Shikamaru shook his head.

If it were only that easy. He _was_ an adult. An adult in a child's body, albeit, but still.

"Guess I need that therapy after all," he said wryly, absently noticing Lupin stiffen.

Two hands landed on Shikamaru's shoulders, quite firmly this time.

"Shikamaru, look at me." Lupin's tone was hard and unforgiving. Shikamaru lifted his gaze reluctantly, feeling remarkably like the child he currently was. "This is _not_ your fault. Do you understand me?" Lupin asked. Shikamaru started to protest - he'd been joking. Mostly. "No. Hear me quite clearly; you are in no way, shape, or form, at fault for not seeing this situation for how it is. And if you do need a therapist, it is for emotional trauma and nothing more. Are we clear?"

Shikamaru found striking similarities between Lupin and a few shinobi he knew. Lupin would be a good ninja. He nodded slowly. Lupin sighed.

"You don't believe me," he said with mild resignation. "That's fine - you're still young. Just don't wallow in self-loathing or something equally as destructive." Shikamaru nodded again. Hell, Lupin would make a good therapist - better than that one at the orphanage. Not like that was saying much. "I'll take you back if you want," Lupin told him. Lunch was off the table then.

"I'll be fine," Shikamaru replied. Lupin gave him a searching look and probably noticed his desire to be alone with his thoughts.

"Alright," he agreed. Shikamaru didn't sigh in relief. It was a near thing. "Here, I'll give you my current address." Lupin whipped out a slip of paper and jotted something down, and then he handed it to Shikamaru. "The telephone number is on there as well. Call for _anything_. Okay?"

Shikamaru nodded. "Thanks," he said sincerely. Lupin hesitated and then settled for awkwardly squeezing the Shikamaru's shoulder.

"I'll see you around," he said. Shikamaru waved goodbye and then turned to start the long way back to the orphanage where he had an appointment with a certain therapist to look forward to.

Maybe he could skive off, just this once. He'd had enough of talking about his emotions for one day. **(2)**

…

 **Present Day:**

"Harry is the King."

In chess terminology, anyway. Ron's eyes narrowed in thought.

"He needs to be kept safe at all costs, otherwise this whole thing is useless," he agreed. "Guess that makes you the Queen, Shikamaru." The 'Queen' in question raised his eyebrow. Ron lifted his hands in a self-deprecating gesture. "I may be halfway decent at chess, but you're a genius at strategies that don't just include where to move which Pawn. Besides, I always fancied myself as a bit of a Knight," Ron admitted with a somewhat sheepish grin. Shikamaru rolled his eyes.

 _Children._

"Continuing down this line of thinking then, Hermione is our Rook. Great for 'endgame' and can access the entire battlefield. She has knowledge of all sorts of subjects," Shikamaru mused. "If I'm getting the piece meanings right."

"You're good. Is everyone else a Pawn then?" Ron asked curiously.

"Unless you want to add more people to the equation. The more people we include in this, the more complicated it becomes," Shikamaru warned. "Snape we can figure out if he agrees to help us."

"But we also gain more allies and therefore more manpower," Ron reasoned. Shikamaru shook his head.

"For covert stuff like this, you want as few people as possible to know everything. We can have some people that just have bits and pieces of the situation, but the fewer people who know the whole truth the better - for them and us. If we get caught, there won't be as much collateral damage, and our allies can truthfully say they knew next to nothing about our true objectives. Also, there's less chance of a leak with fewer people in the inner circle," Shikamaru said, sinking into strategic mode. Ron nodded after considering it. Excellent. One step down out of...entirely too many.

Sometimes, Shikamaru just wanted to take a nap. For eternity.

"Makes sense," Ron said.

Suddenly, they heard the rush of footsteps, and then Hermione sank down next to Ron, breathless and flushed. She set down the stack of books she carried in her arms.

"So, I've been combing over the Daily Prophet articles for anything suspicious, and the only thing worth noting was a break-in at Gringotts on July thirty-first where nothing was actually stolen," she said so quickly the other two almost couldn't understand her. Ron snapped his fingers.

"I remember reading about that! Harry told us about it. Remember, Shikamaru?" he asked, turning to his friend. Shikamaru shook his head

"No, I don't. I must have missed that conversation," he said somewhat dryly. Ron adopted a sheepish expression.

"Oh, yeah. I think it was when you went to go 'talk' to Malfoy," he admitted.

"I don't know why you're saying it like that. It was just a talk," Shikamaru said. Again. For, was it, the...fifth time, now? Ron shot him a disbelieving glance.

"Right," Ron drawled. "We'll go with that." Brat. Shikamaru probably should have cut down on his sarcasm - he hadn't known it was contagious. Hermione cleared her throat.

"Back to the subject," she said meaningfully. Right. That. Before they could actually return to the subject, Harry strode in, sweaty and tired from Quidditch practice.

"What subject are we on?" he asked. Hermione jumped but aimed a smile at the new arrival.

"Ron was just going to tell us about the break-in at Gringotts that you two have kept hidden this _entire time_ ," Hermione said, smile turning dangerous. The boys sans Shikamaru withheld shudders. Barely

"Right, about that," Ron said hastily. In short order, he relayed the article, with Harry chiming in with details from his trip to Gringotts with Hagrid.

"Harry, do you know what the dog is guarding then?" Hermione asked when they finished. Harry slowly shook his head and sat down.

"Not really. Hagrid was being extremely secretive about it. I just know that it was small and wrapped in cloth," he said. Hermione's face fell slightly, and she worked the end of her quill feather into her mouth.

"Well, we can always _ask_ Hagrid," she said unenthusiastically.

"I don't know about that, Hermione," Harry said doubtfully. "I know he agreed to let us into his house for a base, but he's really loyal to Dumbledore - I don't know if he'd tell us without next to no doubt that it's what Quirrell is after. The other staff probably know, but I can't see them giving us any hints. I bet Snape wouldn't tell us anything even if we convinced him to let us help. How's that going, by the way?" he asked Shikamaru.

"It isn't. I haven't had a chance to speak to him yet. I've been too busy trying to secure my resources and find something on Quirrell first. I'm trying to keep our plans broad in order to make some margin for error, but we need _something_ if we want Snape to listen to us and not just brush us off immediately," Shikamaru said. He'd shared that he planned to ask Snape for some guidance, at least, if not outright help, with investigating Quirrell. Snape would probably learn from his Slytherins in Shikamaru's research group anyway.

"What have you come up with so far?" Harry asked curiously.

"Not much," Shikamaru said somewhat ruefully. "The thing about plans is that they need information, which we don't have much of. If I knew what the school was guarding I could probably put something reasonable together, but as it is…" he trailed off. The others nodded.

"I do have an outline at least. First and foremost is keeping Harry safe, at all costs. If we have to tell a dozen more people to do it, than, fine, whatever. Second is finding out what this school is guarding; that way we can cross off the probable target. I'd like to have Snape in on it pretty soon, but it isn't necessary. The third is to try and get the help of multiple professors so that we can either catch Quirrell in the act or stop him before he makes his move. If all else fails...I can get into the Restricted Section of the library at night or something. We'll have to make it up as we go," Shikamaru admitted.

"Well, at least we can be more flexible that way," Ron said.

"Right. So, finding out what in Merlin's name is in this castle. To Hagrid then," Hermione said, clapping her hands. Harry nodded pensively.

"We can go down tomorrow after class to have a chat with him. If he won't tell us directly, we can get at least a hint from him," he said thoughtfully. Shikamaru grinned loftily.

"Look at you all becoming amateur strategists of your own," he said. They looked at him. "S'probably my influence." They looked at each other and shook their heads together.

"Nope. Sorry, the only influence on us that you have is making us lazier," Harry said with a grin.

"Of course, _I_ am the one that makes everyone smarter with my impressively strategic brain," Ron said smugly. Hermione shook her head in mock despair.

"With all of these geniuses around, I guess my brains won't be needed anymore," she sighed. There was a beat of silence before the trio burst out laughing and Shikamaru's grin grew.

"What's so funny?" a voice asked from behind him. He resisted the urge of the violent variety - people had to stop startling him. Didn't they know the dangers of surprising people? Maybe if he told them about his weapons...

They all looked and saw the Weasley twins glancing down at them.

"Sorry," Hermione said with twitching lips. "Only intelligent people are allowed here."

"Oh. So, why are Harry and Ron here?" George asked innocently.

"Oi!" the aforementioned two exclaimed indignantly.

"Not so great minds think alike," Fred said sagely. He and George grinned while the other two spluttered. "Anyway, as amusing as it is to see Hare-Bear and Ronniekins show their staggering resemblance to a pair of tomatoes, we were hoping to borrow Shika over here for a moment."

"You don't let us call you 'Shika'," Ron complained. Shikamaru raised a sardonic eyebrow.

"You never asked," he deadpanned. He stood and followed the twins to a nearby corner.

"What's up?" he asked.

"A prank," Fred said. Shikamaru manfully resisted the urge to groan. He sighed instead.

"Why me?" he asked.

"You tend to cover bases. We just plan an escape route, not a deflection plan," George explained.

"Yeah. When pranks happen, people automatically think, 'It must be the two genius Gryffindor twins,'" Fred agreed.

"They actually probably think something more along the lines of 'Damn those two troublemaking Weasleys'," Shikamaru corrected. The two waved their hands dismissively.

"Whatever. We won't argue the details with you," George said.

"Anyway, we wanted to do an enormous prank," Fred continued.

"Something that would go down in history," George said with a nod.

"And why do you need my help specifically?" Shikamaru asked slowly.

"Well, you see, we've never done something so widespread and ambitious before. Your brilliant brain - combined with our less brilliant but still awe-inspiring minds - can surely come up with a way to pull off what we're planning. This would be a little send-off before the holidays, to give you a time frame," Fred said.

"How large are we talking?" Shikamaru asked warily. Identical evil grins appeared.

"Oh...how about the entire school?" Fred tried. "Does that sound good, brother of mine?"

"Very good," George agreed with a serious nod. Shikamaru's eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"Does that happen to include the professors?" he asked. Regret, what a familiar friend, was slowly creeping into his mind.

"Of course! Wouldn't want them to feel left out," Fred said. Shikamaru sighed again.

Because _nothing_ could _possibly_ go wrong with this idea.

"I could see the school, but the professors? You do know that includes Snape, right?" he asked. Just to be sure.

"Yes. He will just have to participate, kicking and screaming if he must," George said.

"I was visualizing with many hexes and curses," Shikamaru muttered, the little kernel of hope dying a fiery and explosive death.

"Now, now, Shika," Fred said sternly, "being pessimistic about this won't help anything."

"Besides, if we do get caught, you have our full permission to - what do the muggles say? 'Throw us under the bus'," George assured him. Shikamaru huffed.

"I guess I'll just have to make sure we don't get caught; there's no way in hell I'd do that," he said. All for one and one for all, right? The things he did for his friends. "Tell me what the prank is so that I can start planning."

The twins beamed.

"We were thinking that the houses of this school need to get in touch with their mascots. After all, those fine animals represent the students!" George said.

"Wait," Shikamaru said, backtracking swiftly. "No, you can't possibly think...that's probably illegal and more than likely impossible."

"Afraid not, my friend. We've done research. We'll have Lee help us as well if it makes you feel better," Fred said with a grin. It didn't.

Shikamaru was pretty sure these two were going to get him arrested one day, 'research' or not.

"It really doesn't," he informed them.

Why not add another thing to his already sky-high pile of plans, schemes, thought-tangents, and all around stress? He wanted to call for a time-out from the universe, but he knew he wasn't going to get it.

He was torn between weariness from sleep deprivation (pesky thing, insomnia, until it turned hazardous to the health) and nightmares when he could snatch a few hours of the former, worry for the safety of the Idiot Trio (aptly named, in his personal opinion), worry that investigating would bring more danger to them, or that maybe he wasn't acting soon enough, stress from school assignments (which were only growing in number and difficulty, unfortunately; it was like professors had no lives outside of assigning homework...), worry that he wasn't training enough and the desire to find time to do so, but the thought that it should honestly be the last thing on his mind plagued him (but it had been drilled into him that training was _life_ and without it came _death_ , and hell if he could get rid of a lifetime's worth of teachings), strain from trying to come up with a way to convince Snape _not_ to blow them off, worry that the Slytherins would go back on their word (history supported him there), stress that someone would discover what they were doing before they could do anything at all, and now he had this to add to the frankly alarmingly large list of things already crowding his mind.

Unfortunately, because of his increased mental and physical fatigue, his chakra reserves were lower than usual, which crossed off using a few Shadow Clones to help shorten the list of stuff he needed to do, and he couldn't really pile more of his workload onto someone else since Harry was struggling with Quidditch practice and homework, Hermione studied almost as much as he did, and Ron was having difficulties with his classes alone. Fred and George weren't on the table at all since they weren't aware of the fact that Shikamaru was helping foil whatever evil plans Quirrell had, and any adults wouldn't even bear considering in the way of lightening his load.

How he got into these messes, he never knew. It was funny; people said he was lazy, but Temari called him a workaholic.

He was beginning to see her point.

"Shika?" Fred asked with concern. Shikamaru refocused out of his mental sorting of priorities and saw the twins giving him identical looks of worry.

"If you have too much to deal with, you don't have to help us," George said with a slight guilty wince. "We overheard Harry telling Ron that you've got a lot more on your plate than even someone two years older. What with all that you have going on, we'll be fine if you can't."

That sounded entirely too appealing.

Shikamaru shook his head anyway.

"I'll be fine. Give me a couple of days to scrounge something up," he said. He'd _probably_ have something by then.

He walked away before his common sense (noticeably missing these days) could talk him out of it.

"Think we should have tried harder?" George asked quietly.

"We'll know if he can't handle it," Fred said confidently. "We'll just have to have ears and eyes everywhere to make sure this isn't causing him too much trouble."

Shikamaru sat down at the table with his friends, earning curious looks.

"What did they want?" Ron asked.

"Help with a prank," Shikamaru said vaguely, pulling out a book on partial Transfiguration. Hermione eyed it enviously. Harry took one look at the diagrams and formulas and turned bit pale.

"I don't know how you can understand all of that," he said, looking fascinated in a horrified sort of way. The way someone might have looked at something they found particularly disturbing, but it was just so interesting that they couldn't stop staring at it.

Shikamaru understood his sentiments. He used to look that way when Ino took him shopping with her.

" _I_ don't know where you got it; that version hasn't been seen in at least a decade. It's very valuable and the Hogwarts library doesn't have it. I checked," Hermione said. Priorities - at least someone had them.

"I found it in a second-hand shop, underneath a bunch of books on animal care," Shikamaru answered her unasked question. Useless information; the writers had clearly had no idea what they were talking about.

The heavily annotated book was set aside and out came a roll of parchment. He let out a huff of breath, cracked his neck, and began to write. Neat rows of letters and numbers made their way across the paper, with the occasional diagram or arrow to clarify things.

Shikamaru treated it like a mission with a time limit. He wrote it all in an efficient, personal shorthand that took him the least amount of time to glance over. While one of his hands was occupied with writing down the precise instructions on changing the structure of human anatomy with as little pain as possible, the other dug around in his bag for a different book. He pulled it out. This one was on charming inanimate objects.

The thing about being a genius - even a lazy one - was that his brain was always going. Even in his calmest moments - cloud watching - his brain was analyzing something. Calculations ran through his mind twenty-four-seven, determining the physics behind that object's movements or considering how that process worked. His incredible intelligence meant that he could have more than one full train of thought going at one time. He couldn't stop thinking. This had been incredibly useful during the war since it meant that he could think on various levels simultaneously. Even when asleep, his brain was working, and he almost never went into deep periods of sleep. This also meant that when he crashed, he crashed _hard_. And he always knew when the inevitable crash was coming. Shikamaru knew that this was all going to come back and bite him in the ass later, but with the pile of important issues on his mind, he also knew that it was pointless to try and sleep or rest for the next few days. He would burn himself out or he would finish his tasks; one or the other with no other option.

Workaholic indeed.

While thinking about Quirrell, his left hand absently turned the pages of two books and his right hand started writing out ideas in neat bullets and lists. Half-formed thoughts transferred from his brain to the pieces of parchment, automatically categorized by subject and importance. He distantly registered that his friends were staring at him in amazement. Hours flew by - he was lucky it was a weekend - and lunch came. He barely had to presence of mind to tell his friends that he wouldn't be going to any meals before diving back into his research.

(In his other life, his friends wouldn't have taken 'no' for an answer, knowing him like they did. Naruto would have dragged him out forcibly, Chouji would have stood by patiently until Shikamaru's own guilt made him give in, Ino would have purposely distracted him with a lengthy one-sided conversation about something or other, Temari-

Well, his newer friends didn't have that experience, and so they didn't try as hard. Much to their later chagrin.)

The trio left, and when they came back sometime later, the table they had been working at was covered in pieces of parchment filled with notes, theories, and plans in various states of dryness.

"Merlin," Ron muttered. Shikamaru didn't acknowledge them.

"Shikamaru?" Hermione asked tentatively. His hand didn't pause, but he glanced up. "Um, have you...er, have you done your homework?" Shikamaru nodded briefly and reached for a small stack of parchment in the corner of his table.

"Here. Essays for Potions, History of Magic, and Charms. Drawing and notes for Herbology, a summary of the chapter for Transfiguration, and observations for Astronomy," he said briskly.

" _Merlin_ ," Ron said again in amazement. "You did all of this while we were at lunch?"

"No, he can't have. I saw him working on it this morning before breakfast," Hermione reassured him.

"Maybe we should talk about this somewhere else?" Harry asked quietly. The other two nodded after glancing at their friend. The three went away, much to Shikamaru's relief. He was nursing a headache and while they meant well, their talking hadn't made it any better. He didn't notice the hours slipping away, internal clock smothered by the buzzing of his mind, and he refused to acknowledge the ache that was growing in his hands. His eyelids started to droop, but he took an Invigoration Draught that gave him a large boost of energy. It was like a wizard's equivalent of coffee. It was also highly addictive, so he only took the potion when necessary. The day turned to night, and his friends took one look at him and left him, deciding he would go to bed when he was ready. But, well, he never did.

He worked through the night, brushing away his fatigue with practiced ease (because it wasn't too bad yet, and this wouldn't be the first or last all-nighter he would have to pull, he knew), and he continued right on until the next day started. Harry and Ron came down for breakfast, exchanged looks, and went up to him.

"Shikamaru?" Harry asked tentatively. Shikamaru barely glanced at him. "It's time for breakfast." Harry frowned as he took in his friend's physical state of disarray.

"I'll be fine," Shikamaru said automatically.

"You need to eat, mate," Ron said with concern.

"I'll be okay," Shikamaru assured him absently. He was almost there with the Partial Transfiguration. "Go on ahead." The two exchanged looks again and went towards the door.

"Don't overwork yourself," Ron said, voice laced with uncertainty. And then the two walked out of the room.

 _Too late._

His vision tunneled as he refocused on his work.

Work, work, work. Studying, noting, dissecting the theory behind it - trying to improve it, seeing what else it could be applied to. Writing page after page after page of thoughts and half-formed conclusions to look back on later. No time to fully think through the plan, writing it out to come back later, just to get something down. Switching targets. Looking through history; scouring through the book and reading it cover to cover and then again in case something was missed. Write down anything that looked vaguely helpful. Dinner? What was dinner? Sleep? That was okay; he hadn't needed consistent sleep for years now. Ignoring the ache in the back of his mind, ignoring the concerned looks of his friends, politely (or not so politely) brushing off any attempts at conversation.

(No, he really wasn't alright, but his well being wasn't important right now.) Temari was right; he was a workaholic when he got _focused_.

The darkness crowded around his vision, but he didn't want to depend on the potions so he just bore with it and pushed it away. The ache was spreading to behind his eyes - which, consequently, were probably red and bloodshot from staying up for almost three nights straight. Worry for Harry's safety, (but wait, those prank plans needed to be done two hours ago), plans for persuading Snape to listen to them, back to school work (had to prepare for the 'study' sessions to give the Slytherins a reason to come); Harry, prank, school, Snape, _Harry-prank-school-Snape-_

Shikamaru's head thudded down on his textbook, his hand still in the process of writing something down (he didn't even know what anymore because everything was on autopilot), and he fell into a deep sleep. He didn't move for the next six hours, breathing light and thready, and his temperature high and his face pale and strained.

…

The common room was quiet. It was early morning and a few minutes before breakfast. No one paid attention to the completely still Gryffindor in the corner that had become a constant presence. No knew why, but the room felt too quiet. No one would realize that they had gotten used to the sound of a scratching quill and the wrinkle of paper as pages turned. Hermione came down first, soon followed by Harry and Ron.

They noticed something was off too.

"Something's up," Ron said with a frown. He turned to his friend in the corner. "Hey, Shika-" he stopped and his face paled.

"Oh, no," Hermione whispered. "Look at him."

"He looks..." Harry started hesitantly.

"Bloody awful," Ron said flatly. He sighed and shook his head. "I knew we should have told him to take a break."

"He wouldn't listen to us," Hermione said, but she didn't sound convinced of her own words.

"Then we should have forced him," Harry said fiercely. "Clearly he doesn't know his own limits."

"Or he doesn't care," Ron agreed somberly. "I'll be having a word with Fred and George later."

"What about us?" a familiar voice asked. The twins came into the room from their dormitory, fixing their ties.

"Shikamaru," Ron replied. "You asked him for help with your prank, didn't you?"

"So what if we did?" Fred asked. "He said he could manage to help us."

"Shikamaru is an _idiot_ who clearly doesn't know how to limit himself. Look at him," Ron said flatly, jabbing a finger at his friend's still body. Fred and George took a look at Shikamaru and their expressions became sufficiently shocked.

"We asked around; no one's said anything about him being this bad," George said quietly.

"That's because he hasn't left the Gryffindor common room for almost three days," Hermione said tartly. The twins were silent.

…

Shikamaru was aroused by the sound of raised voices. His first thought was to tell whoever it was to shut the hell up because _he was trying to sleep, damn it_. His second thought was the realization that he had, in fact, fallen asleep.

That wasn't good.

Shodaime; this was why he needed to invest in an alarm clock or something.

Unfortunately, sudden, loud noises and a high strung ninja did not a good match make.

Shikamaru kicked his abused brain into gear and actually listened to what was being yelled.

"-didn't know! How could we?" the very familiar and irate voice of a certain twin exclaimed.

"I don't know, but Shikamaru has enough to think about without your pranks!" Hermione scolded testily. Shikamaru might have been just a little impressed that she could yell at someone two years her senior like that.

"You two are gits, you know that?" Ron said in disgust. "Asking someone who _already_ has sleeping problems to spend even more time awake to help you with your fun?" Shikamaru's eyes snapped open at this last comment.

He should have said something before it got to this point. This was karma for...something.

"He didn't tell us he had insomnia, or whatever the hell it's called!" George said defensively.

"Damn straight I didn't," Shikamaru butted in, wishing for a glass of water so that he didn't sound so croaky. He lifted his head and stifled a groan as the light caused the muffled ache behind his eyes to return full force. He massaged his temples in hopes of getting it to abate.

It didn't. He felt like he had the hangover from hell.

"Shikamaru!" Hermione said in surprise.

"It wasn't important enough to advertise," he continued, ignoring her greeting. He ironed his face with his hands. "Anyway, I got the plans done. I just need to work out the kinks and add a few details. It's not a big deal."

Well, there was no need for them to look so incredulous. Contrary to apparent popular belief, he _did_ know his limits. Now, whether they should have been set so high was another story entirely.

"Yes, it _is_ a big deal!" Hermione said shrilly. "You collapsing from exhaustion isn't good at all!"

"Hermione, calm down," Ron said, though he looked plenty incensed. "Yelling at him won't do anything."

"I do this all the time," Shikamaru said in mild exasperation. Their hearts were in the right place. "It's just life sometimes. CEOs do it, scientists do it; there's just too much to do and something has to give."

"But you _aren't_ an adult," Hermione said. "We're eleven years old - _you_ are eleven years old, and genius or not, you need sleep! A-and food!" She was close to tears, worry apparent on her face. Shikamaru felt a tinge of guilt somewhere in the back of his mind, but he was too busy concentrating on not grimacing at his headache to try and assuage her concerns.

"Shikamaru, mate," Ron said quietly, "you don't have to do this all alone. I know we aren't as smart as you or as advanced in anything, really, but let us help.

Shikamaru sighed; that wasn't the message he'd been trying to send. "It isn't like that. I know that you can help, and it's my problem that's keeping you from doing so. I'm not used to having people intelligent enough around to help, I guess."

Which was mostly true.

"What about the other kids at your orphanage?" Hermione asked. Fred and George exchanged surprised looks.

"You're an orphan?" they asked in shock. Shikamaru tilted his head back so that he was looking at the ceiling. This wasn't really a conversation he wanted to have while functioning with so little sleep. Or, well, he would have liked to avoid it altogether, really.

"Yeah, you didn't know?" Harry asked, from somewhere to Shikamaru's right.

"Troublesome," Shikamaru told the ceiling flatly.

"He never told us," George said in a strange voice. Shikamaru let out a large breath through his nose and then he lowered his head until his eyes locked with Fred's. The Weasley was both surprised and a little...hurt?

Damn. It.

"It wasn't on purpose," Shikamaru said sincerely. "It just never came up." And he didn't much like to talk about it. There wasn't a whole lot to talk about. Nothing good, anyway.

"Right." Fred looked unconvinced.

Well. How did he fix this?

"Do you like it there?" George asked suddenly.

"What?" Shikamaru asked in confusion, his brain struggling to keep up with the conversation. Invigorating Draughts were great temporary measures; the after effects were not so nice.

"Do you like it there?" George repeated. "I just thought that if you didn't like it, then you probably wouldn't have much cause to bring it up."

George was offering him a way out and Shikamaru appreciated it. He was being offered a chance to help explain his lack of explanation. And yet...he was reluctant to impart to his friends what his home situation was really like. Harry had told a bit of his life at the Dursley house (all refused to call it 'home'), and what little was given made the boy's friends swell up in righteous anger. (A cupboard? Seriously? How had nobody noticed that? Then again, no one had noticed Shikamaru's 'room' either...)

But while Harry might have needed the reassurance that nothing was wrong with him just because his relatives were grade-A assholes, Shikamaru was an adult that had no such insecurities. He knew it was on the adults of the orphanage. He didn't want pity or sympathy. (Neither helped anyone during the war, and neither would help now.) So, he resorted to telling half-truths to keep them satisfied, while also ensuring their innocence stuck around for a little longer.

Harry might have known a bit more than the other two, but for all of Hermione's intelligence, she was still quite naïve. Her blatant trust in adults proved that. Ron was sheltered by his family, and the Dursleys (terrible excuses for human beings that they were) didn't seem to be the type of people to expose Harry to the depravity and evil that the world could provide if only to keep those influences away from their own son. Shikamaru was under no such illusions and had long since resolved to keep his friends on the lighter side of things rather than that large gray area that he now resided in. Still, he had to play the relatively innocent child...

"I don't hate it," he said finally. "It isn't the best, but it's something. Better than the streets, right?" Sometimes he wasn't so sure of that. It was probably best not to tell them that tidbit though.

"That isn't a very high standard," Hermione noted.

"Yeah, well, I don't have high expectations," Shikamaru said. Not of that place, not anymore. There was a bit of an awkward silence, during which Shikamaru struggled to marshal his thoughts into a semi-coherent train.

"Why didn't you tell us you were so busy?" Fred asked finally. "We wouldn't have asked you to help. George and I know you have a lot of stuff going on, but we didn't think it would get so…" He gestured to the chaos that was Shikamaru's work.

Shikamaru debated what to say. His neglect of basic human needs was biting him in the rear right on time. The hunger was making him feel light-headed, his throat was drier than Suna, and his headache was just getting worse every moment. He needed a couple days of sleep, food, water, and a couple of headache pills. Or, assuming wizards had none, some sort of potion. Madam Pomfrey probably had something.

"I thought I could handle it better than I did," he said truthfully. Who knew that planning a prank - even such an elaborate one - could be so much work? He had a whole new respect for Naruto now - and Fred and George. Or was it George and Fred? He had heard something about Gred and Forge too, maybe. (Or he had imagined it in a temporary state of delirium.) Perhaps Forge and Gred?

His hand came up to pinch the bridge of his nose. And...he was off track. This was what happened when he got no sleep. His mind snagged on random tangents and focused on the most obscure things. It was very irritating.

Irritation: the state of feeling annoyed, impatient, or angry. Angry like an Uchiha. Uchihas...Sasuke had been the literal Last Uchiha for less than a year. Maybe. When had Itachi died? But wait, Sasuke married Sakura and therefore started to rebuild his clan, which was part of his goal...right? Or had that only been killing Itachi? Hmm. He'd have to ask Naruto-

Shikamaru violently wrenched himself from those thoughts, feeling a little sick. He couldn't ask Naruto because he wasn't in the Elemental Nations anymore. No Naruto, or brooding Uchiha, or Ino, or Temari… No Shikadai either. No family. Friends, sure, but he didn't want to replace his old family with a new one; it wouldn't be fair to anyone. Though honestly, the chances of him getting a new family were slim since he lived in an orphanage that disliked and distrusted him - and the feelings were completely mutual. He wondered how they were doing, his family.

Were they looking for him? Or maybe they were frozen in time while he was here. Perhaps his original dimension had restarted without him in it. Team Ten would get someone else...how would that even work? Temari would probably remain single for life, but that wasn't right because she had always wanted a family. He...just wouldn't be a part of it. Neither would Shikadai. Or maybe his parents had a different child that would take his place.

Or maybe he was existing in two places at once. The idea made his headache worse.

That was about when he noticed that his friends were looking at him with even greater concern. ...had he said that out loud?

Well, judging by their half confused expression, at least he'd said it all in Japanese. There was that. Hmm...Japanese…

This was ridiculous. He couldn't focus for two seconds!

"Can we question him later? He looks ready to drop," Harry said hesitantly.

Excellent idea, Harry. Shikamaru was very amenable to the idea of sleeping.

"Nearly three days without sleep would do that," Hermione agreed with a nod.

"I'm right here," Shikamaru muttered. They ignored him like the brats they were. **(3)**

"I think we can cover for him in class," Ron said thoughtfully. "We can take notes for him, and the only people who might make a big deal out of it would be Professor McGonagall and Professor Snape. Binns doesn't notice much, and I can't see Flitwick being hung up on it."

"Alright," Hermione said briskly. "You-" she pointed a finger at Shikamaru, "go to sleep. And we-" she indicated the trio, "will take notes for you and turn in your homework. But for today only!" she added hastily, raising a finger and waving it. Shikamaru shook his head. Of course. But, a fond look entered his eyes and a faint smile touched his lips.

"Alright, you troublesome girl," he said agreeably. He stood up to go and do exactly what she had told him to - and nearly fell over as a wave of exhaustion swept over him. He stumbled back and probably would have tripped over his chair or something similarly ridiculous, but two pairs of strong arms secured themselves around his shoulders and arms.

That was...mildly embarrassing.

"Oi, can't have you going all princess-y on us," George mocked lightly.

"That's right," Fred agreed. "We can't have you sleeping before you actually get to bed. People would talk. They'd say that you're a lazy lie-about who doesn't put forth nearly enough effort."

Well. They wouldn't be wrong, per say...

"Actually, I'm pretty sure they say that anyway," George said thoughtfully as they guided Shikamaru up the stairs. The other first years followed at a distance, carefully watching their mutual friend.

"Well, then this would reinforce it all. Would hate to prove them right," Fred declared cheerfully.

Shikamaru listened to their light-hearted banter in a sort of haze and felt immeasurable relief when he was placed on his bed. His body relaxed instantly, and he might have made an embarrassing noise of contentment, but he was too out of it to care.

He drifted off to one of the twins chuckling and saying fondly, "Alright, let's leave our little overachiever to his rest." He'd never been happier to fall asleep.

Best of all: he didn't even have any dreams.

* * *

 **Potions:**

 **Invigoration Potion: Gives drinker boost of energy.**

 **Ninjutsu (Techniques):**

 **Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Shadow Clone technique):** **Creates copies of the user, splits chakra in half for each clone and transmits memories of the clone to the user after it dispels. B-rank, hand seals are Clone seal or Tiger seal. (Mentioned).**

* * *

 **(1): Yeah, what Neville's relatives did to him - pushing him out a window - is seriously messed up. As in, his relatives could get jail time for that if they were muggles.**

 **(2): Firstly, I have no idea where this scene came from, to be honest. It was supposed to be light-hearted. Ha. But in all seriousness, I think this was a conversation - or part of one - that Shikamaru needed to have.**

 **He was never abused or mistreated in his original life, so chances of him identifying such passive-aggressiveness as abuse were slim, even with his great intellect. The fact is though; he is being neglected almost to the point of them starving him. I think that he needed to get a clue, but that it wouldn't happen by himself - he's only human - and voilà, that's where Lupin came in. Anyway, hope you enjoyed this angsty thing that wrote itself.**

 **(3): I always thought Shikamaru's propensity to sound like a crotchety old man was hilarious.**

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 **Guest Reviews (Bottom to Top):**

 **Allison:** **Hopefully I'll get that error with my re-write! Sorry about the mistake! And I am very glad that you enjoyed the recommendation. Thank you so much for your two reviews!**

 **Guest:** **Yes, Shikamaru sees himself apart from the Golden Trio. I believe that it is more age and the fact that he still considers The Elemental Nations to be his home that keeps the four of them separate. Shikamaru isn't really one for confidence issues unless he fails in something, so the fact that he is an adult in a child's body helps with the distinction. Thank you for the thought-provoking review!**

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 **A/N:**

 **IMPORTANT FOR LATER PLOT! READ!**

 **Someone brought something up, and I actually really like the idea. They were like, 'Will Lupin adopt Shikamaru?', and I'm like '…wow, never thought about it, but yeah, why not?' (Thank AlcatrazPrsnr for the idea). So anyway, if the adoption doesn't happen, there will be some sort of parental/child relationship there, in spite of Shikamaru's mental age. Shikamaru is an adult in a child's body, but sometimes he has childish impulses and stuff, the consequences of de-aging, in this story anyway. You should see what I mean in later chapters. And the whole Lupin thing won't happen for a few books, but I have it all planned out. By the way, I'm doing all seven Harry Potter book in one story, so we're in this for the long haul, hope you don't mind!**

 **Thanks for everything, and please leave a review on your way out.**

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 **Recommendations:**

 **Because Roses Are Not Always Red – DarkLux: A nicely done set of one shot where Kakashi is mute, and Obito and Rin are alive. It isn't in chronological order and tends to skip around, but it is still quite enjoyable. Both humor and angst are present, and yes, Team Seven is there. Rated M, sorry again! (I was surprised and didn't realize the rating until I typed this recommendation out, but there isn't anything sexual, so far.)**

 **A Decade and a Half Ago – VoldemortCan'tStopTheRock: A one-shot about Harry's primary school's fifteen-year reunion. Dudley is there and is nice, and Harry gets to be awesome. A nice read, if a too short, but still rather longer than your average one shot. Rated K+, and is just something light-hearted.**

 **Chasing Dragons – Jedi Goat: Another one shot, this time about the Weasley twins and Percy! Brotherly comforts when they were all still children. Please read, it's adorable and I feel that it hasn't had enough recognition. Hardly anyone does Percy and his brothers, and I love Ron, but this is something new. Rated K+ and is quite fluffy – like that purple unicorn from Despicable Me.**

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 _Changes to Chapter 5 (Sorry if I miss some details, but I'm focusing on the larger things for those of you who care):_

 _Ron is not on a sugar high, and Shikamaru meets with Zabini, Bulstrode, and Nott to discuss what they owe him after he saved them. He meets Snape after this meeting._

 _Shikamaru suspects that the Quirrell situation goes high up in Hogwarts. He isn't wrong._

 _Hagrid's place will actually be a base-of-operations._

 _Shikamaru doesn't tell Harry, Hermione, and Ron about his meeting with the other three houses. He meets with these people. Slytherin: Blaise Zabini, Theodore Nott, Milicent Bulstrode, Daphne Greengrass, Tracy Davis. Ravenclaw: Terry Boot, Anthony Goldstein, Marcus Belby. Hufflepuff: Cedric Diggory, Ernie Macmillan, Susan Bones. Gryffindor: Percy Weasley, Neville Longbottom. The group will investigate Quirrell and self-teach themselves to compensate for what he isn't teaching them._


	7. Chapter 7: Fur for Fun!

_**Summary:**_ **Motivated, miffed, and magical, Shikamaru Nara was a force to behold. Whoever had placed him here was going to get it, but first he'd have to get through a school for magic. And he'd thought ninjas could be stupid. Troublesome.**

 _ **Rating:**_ **T, and should stay that way.**

 _ **Genres:**_ **Friendship, Adventure, Hurt/Comfort, maybe more, I don't know yet.**

 _ **Warnings:**_ **Language, implied/mentioned child abuse/neglect, hey look...that's angst...in a chapter that was supposed to be funny, non-canon stuff going on in here, probably some OOCness,** **warnings are individual per chapter, might change next chapter or might not** **. No slash or yaoi, yuri, Shounen Ai, or Shōjo Ai. Or incest…just…no**

 _ **Pairings:**_ **As far as romance goes, it's canon for both series. Friendship!Shikamaru/Harry &Ron&Hermione&Neville&Fred&George. Mentorship(maybe)!Snape/Snape. Possible Father!Lupin/Shikamaru. I might add more later, if I think of it.**

 _ **Disclaimer:**_ **Don't think them will ever be because I don't have the money to buy them.**

"Speech"

' _Thoughts'_

 _Emphasis on words_

 **(#) A/N at end to explain stuff**

Regular text

* * *

 **A Shadow in Wizard's Robes Chapter 7: Fur for Fun!**

 **By: AngelicSilverWolf**

' _Today was good. Today was fun. Tomorrow is another one.' - Doctor Seuss_

* * *

 **Age 7: Four years before Hogwarts**

Everything had been going decently, until she came along and unsettled him. In his defense, it wasn't every day that he was stopped by a woman that bore a strange resemblance to a dragonfly. He had just exited the Apothecary with a bag of ingredients, when she knocked him over. He stood up and was handed his bag.

"Are you alright? Oh, my, how clumsy. Please, forgive me," the woman said quickly.

"It's fine," Shikamaru reassured, unnerved by her manner of dress.

"I'm so glad-" and then the woman met his eyes and stiffened.

"Ma'am?" Shikamaru asked hesitantly.

" **A change in fate has occurred, a person who should not be here but is; a foreigner from a land far away has made an appearance. Born to fight, born to kill, he will drastically change the future, but whether for better or for worse has yet to be seen. With the power to destroy the Dark Lord, or raise him to power, the Shadow lies in wait for the sign to either cover the world in darkness or in light. Betrayal by one he calls friend and much suffering has yet to come, but what will tip the balance is not now known. He will exit this world, never to return, and will leave it in either ruin or in a Golden Age of peace, the likes of which hasn't been seen for many centuries,"** the woman said in a deep and strangely croaky voice.

Shikamaru just managed to catch her before her face made an acquaintance with the ground, pushing aside his shock at her prediction. He sat her against a wall and backed away, his mind running over the words already committed to memory.

It was about him. No doubt about it, for who else was "a foreigner from another land"? "Born to kill"? No, he had no doubt. Also, the Dark Lord...Voldemort, it had to be. But how could _he_ affect Shikamaru if he was supposed to be dead? There was one thing he knew for certain, and that was that absolutely no one could know about the prophecy. Ever.

It was between him and Voldemort, and that was it. Not that Shikamaru was about to go join the guy, but with the potential to destroy the world, he wouldn't take chances with trusting people not to lock him up just because of a stupid prophecy. He also wouldn't tell any future friends, especially since one of them would evidently betray him, and he certainly wouldn't tell any adults.

Being at the orphanage had made him wary of people over a decade older than him. Only the ones in this dimension, though. In Konoha, every adult worth talking to was either a ninja or a relatively innocent citizen. The ones who were neither of those two were kept distant at best and unacknowledged at worst. Being a ninja had its hazards, but it was a general consensus among the blooded that being a shinobi meant being a tool, which left little room for trust or deception with allies. It was a trust that teammates would have each other's backs in battle, and that a properly planned attack would mean everyone going home, hopefully in one piece.

But, it wasn't blind faith. No, there were barriers there. Whether it was identity, age or specialties, most people kept at least one thing from their temporary companions. Shikamaru himself only trusted a select few explicitly. A few of them weren't even Konoha ninjas. The threat of traitors and spies made trust a rare privilege, even in times of peace. Complete trust usually only happened when there was knowledge that a person wouldn't be abandoned by another, even in the most desperate of times, when the person knew that they mattered more than the mission.

So, there was very little chance of Shikamaru trusting anyone that much in this world, with its innocent people and their petty arguments. Many of the adults were more along the lines of businessmen as opposed to fighters, which meant that they didn't know what it was like to put their lives on the line and pray for a miracle in an impossible situation, didn't know what it was like to command hundreds of people that were all dependent on a rough plan to keep them safe - to keep them alive and get them home to meet their families. These adults didn't know sacrifice. They didn't know what it was to hold back dozens of enemies to ensure the safety of allies, to die knowing that everyone had made it back and that it was finally okay to stop. They didn't know war, and they didn't know death. Not like Shikamaru and the rest of his world. The children here didn't either, but that was fine - in fact, sometimes Shikamaru envied the younger generations at times, envied their innocence, envied the fact that they _could_ have innocence and not be in too much danger because of it. Children in Shikamaru's world tended to lose their innocence rather quickly, citizen or not, especially in war times. In his world, the younger it was lost the better.

So, no, Shikamaru didn't trust adults. Or...anyone, really, at the moment.

(But if he was completely honest with himself, maybe he was hoping that would eventually change.)

…

* * *

 **Present Day:**

It was weird to not have Shikamaru around for such a long period of time. Granted, at least they knew that he was resting instead of working now, but still. Harry found himself turning to ask the Nara something more than once in his classes, only to be reminded by the blank space next to him of the boy's absence. He, Ron and Hermione had promised to do more in their little project, and had trooped down to Hagrid's the previous day, as they had planned before.

They had wheedled a name from the man, Nicholas Flamel, and had gleefully marched to the library. Unfortunately, they couldn't find him. Anywhere.

Hermione had brought out armful after armful of books, hoping to find _something._ Nothing. The man was more elusive than spies in the muggle movies Dudley liked to watch and occasionally mimic (he wasn't very successful, for obvious reasons), but seeing Shikamaru exhausted from effort only strengthened their resolve.

They hoped to have something before the Nara woke up. Harry was feeling rather low on spirits and he knew that Ron was in the same condition, but Hermione kept them going with reminders and warning glances.

"We can't stop now," she said the day after Shikamaru went into a coma-like state, during the lunch hour, when they were in the library instead of eating. "We've put in too much effort. _I_ certainly won't stop."

Harry and Ron exchanged looks, and the latter sighed.

"I guess," he said. "Besides, we couldn't that to Shikamaru. I think he'd strangle us if we told him all his work was for nothing."

"There is that," Harry agreed. "Though I'm sure it would be more along the lines of death by some deadly potion."

"Shikamaru wouldn't do that," Hermione protested. Ron and Harry exchanged looks. "It's too much work, and it'd be really troublesome to clean up," she said roguishly. Harry and Ron grinned.

"Actually," a familiar voice drawled, "it would be far easier than you'd think."

All three spun around.

"Shikamaru!" they exclaimed together. He raised an eyebrow.

"Was that rehearsed?" he asked.

"You're up! How are you feeling?" Hermione asked, recovering first from her shock.

"Better," he admitted. "I don't have a headache anymore, and I don't feel like I'm about to topple over."

"That's great. But...shouldn't you get more sleep?" Harry questioned in concern. Shikamaru shook his head slightly.

"I can't sleep for incredibly long periods of time. These last twelve hours or so were an exception. Normally I just rest in small and somewhat frequent amounts," he explained. Hermione frowned.

"That's strange. How long have you been like that?" she inquired. Shikamaru shrugged.

"Since birth? At least, since I can remember," he said.

"Well, you certainly look better," Ron commented. And he did. His complexion wasn't waxy or as pale, and he seemed to have more energy. He stood firmly and his hands no longer shook from exertion.

"Glad you noticed," the Nara said dryly. He glanced at the table that was covered in thick tomes. "What's all this?" he asked curiously.

"Oh! Right, you don't know. The second day of your...study vigil, we went down to Hagrid's and managed to get a name from him. 'Nicholas Flamel'," Hermione said proudly. Then her face fell and she sighed. "But we can't find him anywhere. I've looked in every book I can think of, and nothing!"

Shikamaru sat down - a tad stiffly - and frowned thoughtfully.

"Can you give me a list of the books you used? Maybe we should try Flourish and Blotts," he suggested. Hermione nodded and set about writing a list. Harry studied his friend closely.

"So you're really better, then? " Ron asked. Shikamaru nodded slowly.

"Yeah. Sleeping like I did made my fatigue go away, along with several other problems," he answered.

"Excellent!" a cheery voice exclaimed. All four of them turned to see Fred and George coming to them with smiles on their faces, but steel in their eyes. "That means we can yell at you now without getting told off by our consciences for scolding a disabled person," Fred declared, ignoring Madam Pince's scandalized glare.

"I wasn't disabled," Shikamaru muttered. "More like temporarily physically unavailable." Fred's smile turned into a frown of disapproval and Shikamaru stopped talking. The other three looked on in slight discomfort.

The twins were usually pretty easy-going, and even when angry there were hints of good humor in their eyes. But…'angry' seemed to be the wrong word to use here. 'Upset' would be a better one.

"Let's start, shall we? George? Do wish to have the honor of going first, or shall I?" Fred asked his twin. George shrugged.

"He's gonna get it from both of us anyway, so you might as well," he said. Fred nodded.

"Right. Let's get this over with," he said with a grimace, which his twin mirrored. Fred turned to look at Shikamaru, who was eyeing him rather apprehensively.

All that can be said of the matter is that it was loud, furious, a tad explosive, and even the librarian didn't interrupt for fear of the looks on the twins' faces. **(1)** By the end, Shikamaru was low in his seat with a somewhat embarrassed and chagrined look on his face.

"Promise to never, ever work yourself like that again," the twins finished in chorus.

Ron was openly gaping and Harry knew that his eyes were probably the size of dinner plates. Hermione was a mix between awe, displeasure, and amusement. The latter seemed to be directed at Shikamaru and her companions' reactions.

"Blimey, and I thought _Mum_ was the yeller of the family," Ron muttered as the twins wrapped up their tirade.

"Must run in the family," Harry said faintly. Hermione snickered. Shikamaru slowly sat up, looking - for all the world - his age for the first time since they had met him. Then his face turned back to its neutral appearance and the image was gone. If Harry didn't know any better, he'd say the Nara had looked almost _lost_ , but that couldn't be right. Shikamaru did annoyance, exasperation, and fondness with a mix of the two later emotion, and occasional amusement and even mischievousness, not being lost. Right?

"I promise that you won't have to interfere again, what happened this last time was a mistake," Shikamaru said carefully, as if weighing his every word. Hermione frowned at the odd wording, but said nothing. The twins' faces split into grins.

"That's all we're asking," George said.

"Wonderful, now I can stop having to think about that," Fred said. They turned to the other three Gryffindor first years. "Sorry about that, but we really-"

"-had to get that off of our chests," George finished.

Harry shook his head. One minute they were lecturing a boy who was usually much more mature than them, and the next they were back to their normal selves. What it must be like to be Fred or George Weasley. He was brought back by a change in topic.

"So, about the prank," George started, when Shikamaru interrupted him.

"Yeah, about that, can I speak to you guys in private?" he asked, standing up. They shrugged and followed him to a corner, where they proceeded to speak in hushed tones. Smiles split the twins' faces, and they clapped Shikamaru on the back. The group separated and Shikamaru returned to the other first years with a mildly pleased look in his eyes.

"What was that all about?" Hermione asked him.

"Prank details. I can't tell too much or I'll give it away," he said. There was mischievousness in his voice and a bit of excitement in his eyes.

"It's going to be big, isn't it?" Ron asked. Shikamaru turned to him.

"Why do you say that?"

Ron shrugged. "I know my brothers."

Shikamaru nodded and that was all that was said on the subject.

…

* * *

"Well? Are they ready?"

"Patience, young grasshopper."

"Where did you learn that? Isn't that a muggle saying?"

"I'm a half-blood."

"That...actually makes sense. Did you two know that?"

"Lee is a half-blood? Of course! Sorry best friends we'd be if we didn't at least know that, Shika." **(2)**

"Right. Do the house-elves know what their job is?"

"Yeah. Excited little buggers too. Kept calling me 'Master Weasley', or 'Master Fred'."

"Hm. So, it's tonight then. Finally."

"Well, people are going home in a few days. So, if everything works out, everyone will have some new additions to their bodies. And, if we did this correctly, it should last exactly thirty-seven hours."

"Why thirty-seven?"

"It's a nice, even number."

"...No, it isn't." **(3)**

"Shika, are we going to sit here and nitpick all day, or shall we get this party started?"

"...Troublesome."

"You heard the man! Fred, George, you know your places. Shikamaru, prep the signal for the house-elves. By the way, I want a mane."

"We can't all have what we want; Lee, but I'll see what we can do. I mean, _I_ want a kick-arse tail, and Shika secretly confided in me that he wanted claws-"

"Don't put words in my mouth, you troublesome person!"

"Now, now, Shika, getting homicidal won't help anyone. You don't have to try so hard to act like the predator we all know you want to be. Besides, we need Fred alive for this operation."

"...I hate my life. Why did I agree to this again?"

"You love us, and you're secretly a mischievous, no-good prankster like Filch calls us."

"Whatever. Let's just go already. Time to start… _Operation Fuzzy Bits_? Seriously? _This_ is the name you came up with?"

"Don't knock it till you try it."

"I'm trying it right now, and it still sounds as stupid as when I first saw it. I give up."

"That's the spirit! Operation Fuzzy Bits is officially underway!"

…

* * *

Hogwarts was awoken with many a scream and unmanly yelps of shock. Students poured into the Great Hall, haphazardly dressed and in various states of confusion and distress. Only...to their surprise, they weren't the only ones.

Snape glared venomously at the world at large. His black eyes had been changed so that they resembled that of a snake's and were now a dark green, and when he opened his mouth, a silvery forked tongue made its appearance. McGonagall had red whiskers and golden pads on her bony fingers, while Sprout was sporting black hair with yellow stripes. Flitwick's hands more resembled talons than fingers while his hair had been dyed blue, and Dumbledore - yes, Dumbledore was affected as well - trilled a little every time he spoke. He didn't have any visible color changes, though.

The students of every house now had some sort of trait of their house mascot, and occasionally one or both of their house colors. And it affected every single person, so in theory, no one could be blamed for the prank. The twins' brown eyes were now amber in color, and when they grinned, abnormally sharp teeth made an appearance. Lee Jordan got his desired mane, black with gold streaks and took the place of his hair, which he showed off proudly. Shikamaru was slouched in his seat, while his housemates gaped at the pair of fluffy black ears that peaked up in his messily put up hair. He also was gifted with a smooth tail with a tuft of black hair at the end.

Chaos reigned for nearly ten minutes while teachers either tried to regain order, gawked at their own extra appendages, glared in sulky silence, or roared with laughter at their coworkers' expressions. Eventually Dumbledore managed to get everyone seated at their tables, his eyes twinkling with mirth all the while.

"Well, this is a surprising way to start the holidays," he said. The students rumbled in agreement, some looking more amused than others. "I don't believe that these new additions are harmful, so we shall have to wait and see how long they last. I myself am quite fascinated and, should the engineers behind this prank ever come forward, would enjoy learning about how it was done. Until then, we shall simply go about our normal days."

Some of the students didn't seem to care one way or another, and the rest were either in good spirit about it, or they were on the more negative side of the emotional range. The majority of the teachers looked resigned or extremely irritated. The only one who hadn't been affected was Professor Bins, and that was because transformations didn't really work on intangible objects. The students were brought out of their moods by the appearance of food, and the sounds of eating filled the hall.

The breakfast period was spent with the students either admiring their new additions, or them trying to get rid of them. Unfortunately for those who belonged in the latter category, there was no doing so. Even the seventh years couldn't get rid of it, they usually ended up only making it worse.

"How'd you do it?" Ron asked, casually examining his friend's tail. It twitched in response to his pokes. Shikamaru yanked his tail away.

"Poke yourself," he said irritably. Ron just shrugged good naturedly and examined the paw prints on his fingers.

"Wicked," he said. "You never answered my question." Shikamaru eyed him pensively.

"Have you ever heard the phrase, 'A magician never shares his secrets?'?" he asked.

"No…?" Ron said slowly.

"Hm. Pretty much, I'm not going to tell you because it would ruin the effect," Shikamaru said. Ron pouted but didn't say anything.

"Shikamaru, can't you get rid of _these_?" Hermione asked desperately, waving her now clawed hands.

"Sorry. It's permanent for another few days or so," he answered unapologetically.

" _Permanent_?" she squeaked. "How am I supposed to hold anything? How am I supposed to _write_ , or hold my books without poking a hole through them?"

"Cats have retractable claws, don't they?" Harry asked from across the table. Hermione went pink.

"I haven't figured out how to control them yet," she mumbled.

"Don't you just...I dunno, _pull_ , or something?" Ron asked. Shikamaru sighed and went back to eating.

"'Pull'," Hermione repeated blankly. " _That's_ your advice?"

It was Ron's turn to change colors. "I was just trying to help," he said defensively. "How the ruddy hell should I know? I only have pads. See?" He held up his hands for inspection. Hermione leaned over to do exactly that, and Harry and Shikamaru exchanged knowing glances.

"Fifth year, he asks first, five galleons," Harry said, much to the confusion of the others. Shikamaru smirked.

"Without complications? Where's the fun in that?" he drawled. "Sixth year, they have several whole dancing-around-the-issue situations. He finally grows a pair and just asks her out, oh, and they probably have a few jealousy spats. Five galleons it is." **(4)** He and Harry shook hands.

"What are you two talking about?" Ron asked suspiciously. Harry gave a look of innocence that absolutely no one believed, and Shikamaru just smirked some more.

"Nothing," they said together. Hermione rolled her cat-pupiled eyes.

"You two are acting more suspicious than the Weasley twins right now, and that is saying something," she said disapprovingly.

"Us? Like them?" Harry asked in disbelief. Shikamaru cocked an eyebrow at her.

"You give them too much credit," he said, so dryly that at first no one registered his statement. Then Ron snorted, Harry grinned, and Hermione shook her head.

"Incorrigible," she said fondly.

"I do not think that word means what you think it means," Shikamaru replied, completely straight-faced. Hermione's face lit up.

"I love that movie!" she exclaimed.

"Isn't it really old?" Hardy asked curiously.

"What's a movie, and what are you talking about?" Ron butted in. The other three exchanged looks.

"I'd forgotten about the lack of anything muggle with pureblood wizards," Shikamaru commented.

"A movie is like a bunch of pictures together with sound and color," Hermione explained.

"And we're talking about the Princess Bride," Harry said. "Even _I_ know that, and I almost never watch TV."

"Anyway, it's a quote from there," Hermione said. Ron 'hmmed' and said no more.

"So, when _do_ these wear off?" Harry questioned, trying to untangle his newly added whiskers from his glasses. His hair hadn't been changed into a mane, but it _had_ gone from black to a nice dark red.

"A few days," Shikamaru answered vaguely, slapping Ron's hands away from his velvety ears.

"You were serious about that?" Neville asked, looking crestfallen from his position beside Hermione. His changes were less visible as they included a sandpaper textured tongue and enhanced hearing.

"Unfortunately, dear Neville, our tailed friend is right," Fred commented from behind Shikamaru. The latter twitched his ears and tail, the only sign of his aggravation.

"So it _was_ you two!" Seamus said dramatically, pointing a hand covered in soft fur. Everyone gave him a look.

"Was there ever any question?" someone asked sarcastically. Seamus went a little pink.

"Well, Shikamaru's been looking shifty-eyed for a couple of days," he said defensively. Shikamaru's eye twitched. "See?" Seamus asked dramatically.

"You're an idiot," Dean sighed. He shot Shikamaru a sympathetic look, which was ignored as the receiver looked about two seconds away from bashing his head into the table.

"Now, I say that Operation Fuzzy Bi-" Fred started proudly, but Shikamaru's head whipped around so quickly and his look was so threatening that the words died in his throat.

"Keep talking and I will _bite_ you with these new teeth of mine," the Nara said lowly. Indeed, there were sharp canines that glimmered whenever he opened his mouth. Fred's face stretched into an evil grin.

"Kinky," he snarked. Half of the table (the older half) spewed food everywhere, clearly imagining _something_ , and the other half just looked confused. Shikamaru positively _snarled_ and stood up.

"You have exactly to the count of _ten_ before my foot is five feet up your ass," he said menacingly. Fred waggled his eyebrow, and now even his twin was starting to look a little unsure.

"Ooh, _Shikamaru_ ," Fred cooed, paying no attention to the truly dangerous tick that the younger boy was developing. "I didn't know you swung that way-hurk!"

" _Ten_ ," Shikamaru snapped, and then he lunged, just barely missing Fred, who had been yanked back by the collar by his brother, who looked rather concerned for his sibling's safety. They shot off laughing madly and scolding respectively, with a rather pissed off young Nara nipping at their heels. Almost literally.

"I _told_ you we shouldn't have spiked his juice with that hormone stuff!" George yelped, dodging a spell. Shikamaru had pulled out his wand and was now casting furiously after the pair of them.

"How was I supposed to know it would make him act like a girl who's PMSing and a pissed off lion at the same time?" Fred shot back. "It's still fun kind of though, you gotta admi-whoa!" He ducked just in time to dodge a plate full of food that Shikamaru had apparently snatched off of one of the tables. And yes, they were going in circles around the Great Hall.

The teachers seemed to think that they deserved it, for even McGonagall wasn't interfering (that probably had something to do with her un-Vanishable whiskers and the amount of potential blackmail material everyone was gaining from this incident). Dumbledore just chuckled, and Snape looked slightly less murderous now that Shikamaru was aiming some rather lethal spells at the twins. The hormones seemed to be affecting his aim, however, for none of his spells hit. A pity. Seeing a Weasley twin get set on fire for a few seconds would have made Snape's day.

...

* * *

"I hate you all."

Fred and George exchanged looks.

"We said that we're sorry," George said.

"Besides, the fact that you chased us around for over ten minutes while almost succeeding in hitting us with painful jinxes and thus making us the laughing stock of the entire castle makes up for it, doesn't it?" Fred tried reasonably. Shikamaru didn't answer for a moment.

"...the blackmail material I have on you might be worth it," he admitted, a mischievous glint entering his brown eyes. The twins spluttered and everyone else in the room - Hermione, Ron, Harry, and Neville - just shook their heads. "I have plenty on you too," Shikamaru said to his friends. "You could have helped."

"Where's the fun in that?" Ron asked breezily. "It was pretty funny to see the twins running for their lives."

Fred strode up to his younger brother and put him in a headlock.

"Ronnie is getting brave," he said, mercilessly allowing his twin to tickle their brother. Shikamaru watched with something like fondness in his eyes.

On the inside though, he was worried. The potion they had administered to him shouldn't have made him lose control like that. It was _supposed_ to just make him feel some annoying urges, but it shouldn't have made him get so annoyed. As a ninja, he was supposed to constantly be in control of his own body since there was a chance of people getting hurt if he didn't. The thing that had occurred a few hours ago - thankfully it had mostly worn off after about thirty minutes - unsettled him.

He resolved to look into it more over the holidays. For now, he could only think that they'd either messed up the potion, or that his chakra had something to do with it. Considering how meticulous the twins were with their pranks, he was leaning more towards the latter conclusion. He noticed Harry looking at the scene of Ron and his brothers with something close to longing, so he shunted aside his worries and turned to the now-red-headed boy.

"What do you do for Christmas?" Hermione asked quietly, clearly thinking along the same lines as him. He was increasingly thankful for the thing people called 'Women's Intuition'.

"Usually make the food and then stay in my...cupboard while the Dursleys have family over," Harry answered with a shrug. Shikamaru's mouth twisted in displeasure, and Hermione looked shocked.

"Don't you get presents?" she asked. Harry smiled a little sadly.

"I gave up on that when I was five. I learned not to expect any," he answered. Shikamaru breathed slowly to avoid punching something. Preferably Harry's thrice damned relatives. Hermione looked sad, and then determined.

"Then we'll have to fix that this year," she said firmly. " _Expect_ presents from now on." Harry looked so shocked that she stood up and left the room, swiping her hands across her eyes. Shikamaru just watched Harry carefully.

At least they hadn't asked about _his_ Christmases.

"Why was she so surprised?" Harry asked in confusion. Shikamaru sighed.

"I'm not the best person to ask about Christmas traditions, but I'm fairly certain that _everyone_ is supposed to get a present or two. And they're supposed to be able to eat the Christmas feast and enjoy the festivities with whomever they're with," he said slowly. Harry frowned.

"Didn't you know, Harry?" Ron asked. He and the twins had started listening without the others noticing. Harry shook his head.

"They always said that I wouldn't get any because 'Santa doesn't like _freaks_ '," he said, doing air quotations. Shikamaru stood up and started pacing, working to get rid of his excess anger. He couldn't lose it now.

"Freak? Are they talking about your magic?" Fred asked indignantly.

"Yeah. I had been told that my parents were killed while drunk driving and that wasn't cool, but now I think my aunt was jealous or something," Harry told them.

"And that's reason to keep a kid from Christmas?" George scoffed. Harry squirmed slightly in his seat.

"Yeah, but this isn't any worse than not being told my name until age six…" he trailed off at the looks they were giving him. "What?"

"What do you mean by that? You didn't know your own name?" Ron asked, astonished. Shikamaru absently thought that it was a good thing that Hermione was no longer in the room, she would probably be bawling by now.

"No?" Harry tried. "They just called me 'boy' or 'freak'." That was really the last straw for Shikamaru.

He swore viciously, startling the others in the room (for he was usually incredibly calm), and he turned around and - with a chakra enhanced fist - punched a hole _through_ a _stone_ wall of the common room. He ignored the lance of pain that shot through his hand as images of a child Harry filled with confusion intermixed with a young and sad Naruto being called 'monster' and 'demon' filled his mind, making him let loose a litany of Japanese and English profanities. His expletives got more and more extensive as his anger grew, some directed at himself, others at the Dursleys, and a good many just at the world in general.

He ignored his silent-from-surprise friends and pulled his fist out. He'd repair the hole later, he thought dispassionately. For now...he needed to do something. Preferably messy, bloody, and violent. Since fighting other students was probably forbidden, and no one his age would last against him anyways, it was time to go to the Forbidden Forest. Maybe he could kill a few of those giant spiders that were rumored to be there.

With that, he turned on his heel and strode out of the Common Room. Anyone he met on his way outside took one look and wisely stayed out of the way, either because of his foreboding expression, dangerous aura, purposeful walk, or his still bleeding fist - even the few Slytherins that spotted him. They had enough self preservation to know when to pick a fight with the Nara, and they guessed that this wasn't one of those times. Shikamaru jerkily snapped off a Disillusionment charm to keep Filch from interfering with his trip outside (he didn't know what he'd do if the man tried to stop him, but it probably wouldn't be very pretty, and damn it, that potion apparently wasn't _entirely_ out of his system yet) and felt a measure of gratitude that it was Sunday.

Going to classes in this state spelled disaster.

…

* * *

Shikamaru felt marginally better and much calmer three hours later, having vented on a good number of dangerous animals. He had taken the time to clean off his tantō and kunai in the lake, absently noting that there were, in fact, _merpeople_ in the lake. How about that.

He walked into the Common Room and was met with more than a few stares. He raised a questioning eyebrow, and was directed to the hole in the wall. Oh, right. That.

"Shikamaru! You're back," Hermione said. She walked up to him and then noticed all of the stares. "What? Haven't you ever seen a hole in the wall before?" she snapped. She didn't wait for an answer and grabbed Shikamaru's arm and dragged him across the Common Room to a corner.

"Are you okay?" she demanded quietly as soon as they had some semblance of privacy. He quirked an eyebrow at her but nodded.

"Guess you heard about that," he muttered, gesturing to the hole. She let out something of a hysterical laugh.

"It would have been difficult _not_ to," she said. "People aren't exactly sure that it was you, and the witnesses certainly aren't saying anything, but going off the rather foul mood you were in earlier…"

He sighed. "I'll fix it after dinner," he promised.

"I don't care about _that,_ " she said earnestly. "Are _you_ okay?"

He gave her a ghost of a smirk. "Yeah. I just needed to blow off some steam after hearing…that. I'm better now."

"If that's true, why is your hand wrapped up in bandages?" she asked accusingly. "You hurt yourself by punching that wall, didn't you?"

Shikamaru blinked at her in surprise. Honestly, his hand's pain had been reduced to a full throb, and he hadn't thought about it much except to make sure not to jostle it while venting. He had done his little...adventure with his left hand only. It had left him severely handicapped, but since he was pretty sure he had a few broken bones, it had been better to be safe than sorry. Hermione rolled her eyes at his silence.

"Come on," she said in exasperation. "Since you clearly can't take care of yourself, I'll have to help you. To the hospital wing."

Shikamaru was once again dragged by his uninjured arm out of the Common Room, down a few flights of stairs, and into the hospital wing. Madam Pomfrey seemed surprised to see them, for neither of them had been before. She was shaken out of it as soon a Shikamaru unwrapped his bandages.

"Goodness, what did you do to your hand?" she asked blankly.

"Put it through a wall," he muttered. She looked a tad skeptical, but Hermione nodded and shot Shikamaru a look. A few wand taps later and his hand was as good as new.

"Now, I suggest that you refrain from striking anything like a stone wall the next time you feel like hitting something," the nurse admonished sternly.

"Yes, Ma'am," Shikamaru said. The two students left the hospital wing and promptly ran into Harry and Ron.

"Hey," the latter said. "We heard you went to the hospital wing. What's up?"

"Shikamaru here decided to punch a hole in the wall - you were there - and then he didn't go to get his hand inspected until it had enough time to swell and turn purple," Hermione huffed.

"It wasn't that bad. I would have gotten it checked out eventually, I know I'm no medic," Shikamaru grumbled.

"You had _two_ broken fingers, Shikamaru. That's not a good thing," Hermione reminded him. The former shrugged. "What were you doing anyway?" she asked.

"...exploring," he answered vaguely.

"But _where_?" she pressed. He said something too quietly for her to hear. "What?" she asked.

"The Forbidden Forest," he said, looking anywhere but her. She gasped, and Ron and Harry started.

" _What_?" she squeaked. "That place is dangerous! Why-for _four hours_?"

"I needed to let off some steam, so I did," he said simply. "And...the hormone potion Fred and George spiked my drink with hadn't completely worn off yet." Ron scowled.

"Bloody gits," he said darkly. Shikamaru raised a placating hand.

"I don't think they meant for it to affect me like it has," he said thoughtfully. "It was probably a fluke. The potion isn't supposed to actually influence me so strongly, it's just supposed to... _nudge_ me, or something."

"So you punching a wall and swearing enough to make a sailor blush like a schoolgirl was because of the potion?" Harry asked, finally speaking.

"Partly," Shikamaru admitted. "Some of it was genuine anger, though. The potion won't do much without somewhere to start."

"So, _would_ you have punched through a wall without that potion?" Ron asked curiously.

"No," Shikamaru answered blandly. _'I would have punched it, but it wouldn't have gone through. Wasting chakra like that was idiotic of me,'_ he thought wryly.

"Well, while you were having your little pique, _we_ were doing research," Hermione sniffed. Shikamaru threw her a teasing glance.

"Did you find anything?" he asked.

"There's the question of the bloody century," Ron muttered. "Crazy, obsessed…" Hermione shot Ron a nasty look and turned to Shikamaru.

"No, we didn't," she said huffily, "but we _did_ cross off another shelf of the library."

"Going by _shelves_ now?" he asked. "Thorough."

"Of course! He _has_ to turn up _somewhere_ ," she said. "There's no way he just can't exist. We'll find him."

"By second year, maybe," Ron commented. She rounded on him with an irritated look on her face.

"What's _wrong_ with you?" she demanded. He just looked at her with wide eyes. "Don't you _care_?"

"Of course I care!" he said angrily. "But it seems pretty pointless to go looking for this guy more. If he hasn't been in the last five-hundred books, what's to say he'll be in the next few hundred?"

"Nothing, but we shouldn't just give up," she said hotly. Ron made a show of looking around.

"Did I say that?" he asked in exasperation. "I just meant that maybe we could be exploring other options, instead of having all _four_ of us looking for one person. It's called 'Divide and Conquer'!"

"Ridiculous," she said stubbornly. "It would be much easier if we just all tried to look for the same thing."

Shikamaru sighed and shared a look with Harry.

"How long until they stop?" the latter asked. "I would think everyone on the floor can hear them."

Shikamaru narrowed his eyes thoughtfully. Harry was right, for not wanting someone to overhear their plans, yelling about it was pretty idiotic. But, before he could say anything, Ron was yelling at the top of his lungs, "Books aren't the only places to find NICOLAS BLOODY FLAMEL!"

And then time stopped, because the impossible (but quite plausible, in hindsight) had happened. Someone had heard them.

Severus Snape glowered down at Ron from where he had been standing - unnoticed - for the past few seconds, long enough to hear _exactly_ what had been said.

…

* * *

They were fifty kinds of dead. Shikamaru was going to die at a young age, and it was all because _someone_ couldn't wait until they were in relative safety before shouting about their work in his loudest possible voice. Snape had given them all a long, hard look, and had curtly ordered them to his office. There they all were, waiting as shut the door behind them. It sounded like a death sentence. On the way there, Shikamaru had cut off any forms of talk, whether it was an apology from Ron, or a squeak from Hermione. He needed to think this out so that they wouldn't get expelled on the spot. He wouldn't put it past the man to do so.

As soon as they were in the dungeon, Snape commanded them to sit down.

"Now, what would a group of first years know about Nicolas Flamel?" he asked coolly.

* * *

 **Spells (Charms):**

 **Vanishing Spell (Evanesco): Transfiguration spell to vanish inanimate and animate objects.**

 **Disillusionment Charm (Unknown incantation): Spell to something act like a chameleon, taking the color and texture of what is behind and around it.**

* * *

 **(1): Sorry, couldn't actually come up with dialogue for this. Besides, it's the end result that matters anyway.**

 **(2): So, Lee Jordan is either a half-blood or a pure-blood. I'm going with half.**

 **(3): Took this from a different story that I can't remember the name of. But, it isn't mine.**

 **(4): No, Shikamaru can't predict the future, but he has had friends in relationships before, so this is pure guesswork based off of experience and knowledge of Hermione and Ron's characters. (And yes, he and Harry are predicting when the former two will get together.)**

* * *

 **Guest Reviews (Bottom to Top):**

 **Guest (Chapter 4):** **I rather thought so myself, however, some reviews have gotten me to reconsider my ideas of appropriate distances for ninjas to run. I don't know, I'll have to see. Thanks for the review and input!**

 **Wanderer13 (Chapter 4 and then 6 answers):** **Thanks a bunch! I'm glad you like it. About the Lupin thing, yes, you and some others have brought up his eligibility since he's a werewolf, but I think I found something that might work. It won't happen until after the fourth book anyways, so it's a bit of a long way off. And I am certainly going to do the 3rd book, I'm planning to do all 7, so don't worry about that. Thank you lots for the wonderful review and concerns.**

 **Guest (Chapter 1):** **Well I'm glad that you think so. I myself was a little annoyed at times with Hermione in different parts of the series, and with Ron and Harry too, and I think that sometimes people forget that book characters are people too. People who aren't perfect. So thank you for the support and the review.**

 **Nosy John (Chapter 1)** **: I have to say I am a little confused about whether you're protesting or supporting what I'm saying about Sasuke. Shikamaru was referring to Sasuke's younger years, where he was very dark and full of revenge. He knew that Sasuke grew up to be a powerful ninja and a decent person. Yes, having such a thing happen would be** _ **very**_ **traumatic, no denying it. So, sorry for the confusion, and thanks for the review.**

* * *

 **A/N: That cliffhanger though. Sorry, but it just happened. And apparently I can't write anything without some h/c, so that's a thing. Expect the desire to give out hugs to appear from now on. Anyways, reasons for my lateness:**

 **1: My dog died two weeks ago. She's been with me for over nine years, and she just about broke my heart when her's stopped.**

 **2: My computer is utter shite, and it was giving me issues, hence the PMs being issued via library computer or friend's smartphone (because I don't have something so fancy, I'm cheap).**

 **So, yeah, sorry about the unintentional three week (four week?) hiatus, but shite happens. Thanks for the patience and reviews, it's very much appreciated. I'll leave you to stew over the prophecy and the cliffhanger, see you next week and please leave a review!**

* * *

 **RECOMMENDATIONS:** **(Tell me if you like them and if you have any of your own.)**

 **A Mary Sue Alphabet - Irony-chan: I recently discovered this, and it's pretty much all in the title. Nearly every cliché Mary Sue out there included. Hilarious and brilliant, poetry and rated T. Check it out, it's pretty popular for good reason.**

 **A Hero - Celebony: Dudley is good! But, the Dursleys are abusive dipshits, so yeah. If you don't like that...and Dudley isn't OOC, surprisingly. It is amazingly in character and realistic for the situation and AUishness. Rated T for violence and language, and the hurts are real, people.**

 **Campfire - ramasterharper: Funny oneshot about Team 8 in their younger years, before the timeskip. It's very amusing, and Hinata is the only thing that keeps Shino from murdering Kiba. Rated K+ for humor and general fluff.**

 **Of Broken Arms and Super Ninja - Ranowa Hikura: Fluffy oneshot with a chibi Kakashi, a teenaged Minato, and Jiraiya. Babysitting - what could go wrong? (Hint, look at the title). Rated K for cuteness and cluelessness on both of the older men's parts. Tsunade's there too.**


	8. Chapter 8: A Little Reflection

_**Summary:**_ **Motivated, miffed, and magical, Shikamaru Nara was a force to behold. Whoever had placed him here was going to get it, but first he'd have to get through a school for magic. And he'd thought ninjas could be stupid. Troublesome.**

 _ **Rating:**_ **T, and should stay that way.**

 _ **Genres:**_ **Friendship, Adventure, Hurt/Comfort, maybe more, I don't know yet.**

 _ **Warnings:**_ **Language, implied/mentioned child abuse/neglect, and...that's angst...in a chapter about Christmas...dammit - I need help, hmm..depressing shtick going on in here, non-canon stuff going on in here, probably some OOCness,** **warnings are individual per chapter, might change next chapter or might not** **. No slash or yaoi, yuri, Shounen Ai, or Shōjo Ai. Or incest...not now or ever.**

 _ **Pairings:**_ **As far as romance goes, it's canon for both series. Friendship!Shikamaru/Harry &Ron&Hermione&Neville&Fred&George. Mentorship(maybe)!Snape/Snape. Probable Father!Lupin/Shikamaru. I might add more later, if I think of it.**

 _ **Disclaimer:**_ **Never EVER mine, either of them. Just thought I'd clarify for those of you who didn't know.**

"Speech"

' _Thoughts'_

 _Emphasis on words_

 **(#) A/N at end to explain stuff**

 **Time Skip or Given Time**

 _ **Flashback**_

Regular text

* * *

 **A Shadow in Wizard's Robes Chapter 8: A Little Reflection**

 **By: AngelicSilverWolf**

' _Reflect upon your present blessings - of which every man has many - not your past misfortunes, of which all men have some.' - Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol and Other Christmas Writings_

* * *

 **Age 10: One year before Hogwarts**

"So, the Marauders, huh?" Shikamaru asked. Lupin smiled faintly.

"Yes. Prongs, Padfoot, Wormtail and Moony," he said with a hint of wistfulness.

"On a scale of 'basic pranksters' to 'chaos incarnate', how bad were you?" the Nara questioned with an amused gleam in his eyes. Lupin's smile became distinctly more mischievous.

"I'd say we were…'teacher's worst nightmare' at times. Some definitely thought of us as the spawn of the devil," he answered. "It wasn't all of us, just Padfoot and Prongs that ended up in the most detentions or losing all of the house points. I believe, in our seventh year, that the house points for Gryffindor were the lowest in history. The others simply _demanded_ that we go out in style, and even I - as a former prefect - couldn't deny them that bit of fun."

"So, really, if I were to get into trouble for pulling a prank in school, you would have no room to criticize, " Shikamaru said thoughtfully. Lupin chuckled.

"No, I most certainly would not. But I don't see you as the type to wreck havoc like we used to," he said.

"Hm. You never know. It could be my aspiring dream," Shikamaru shot back half-heartedly. Lupin didn't say anything. He studied the boy in front of him with a critical eye and noticed that he was really _thin_.

"Are you eating?" Lupin asked abruptly. Shikamaru started slightly.

"Yeah, why?" Shikamaru looked at him in confusion.

"You seem a bit…thin," Lupin said. Shikamaru furrowed his eyebrows.

"Really? I was going for 'lean' and possibly 'muscular', but I guess a meal every now and then isn't enough for that," he said. Alarm caused Lupin to straighten.

"What do you mean 'a meal every now and then'?" he asked casually. It didn't come out nearly as lightly as he wished. Shikamaru seemed to realize this, for his eyes narrowed slightly, and he sat back in his seat. Lupin found himself detesting that wariness. He had seen Shikamaru watching the other customers, as if looking for threats.

He had seen the boy watch their waiter's every move, eyes on his hands at all times. It was the wariness of someone who had been physically abused **(1)**. "Well, they like to reinforce their superiority by reminding me that they can do whatever the hell they want, and it's legal," Shikamaru said. Then he muttered something that sounded like, "Larger superiority complexes than an Uchiha."

Lupin's mouth twisted in displeasure.

"So what does that mean for you?" he asked, although he felt like he had something of an idea. Shikamaru seemed to mull over what to say. His cautiousness caused a pang to Lupin's heart, but he didn't outwardly react.

"It means," Shikamaru said finally, "that when I do anything even _remotely_ suspicious, they penalize me for it. They call it 'discipline'. It means that whenever other children act out, if I'm around, they can blame me for it and get away with it. It _means_ that I do not receive a constant supply of food from the orphanage, so I am shorter than I should be, and my muscles are not as developed as they should be for my level of exercise."

Lupin didn't like how it was delivered like a mission report.

"But I can deal with it for another year. Hogwarts is bound to have regular meals, right?" Shikamaru said indifferently. Lupin didn't answer and just studied his temporary charge. His mind went back to their meeting, not two hours ago.

* * *

 _ **Flashback…**_

Lupin was walking when he heard the shouting and swearing.

"Stand _still,_ you little rat bastard!" a boy - young by the sound of it - yelled.

"And let you hit me? I'll pass," someone else drawled. Lupin sighed and turned in the direction of the fight. He walked into an alley - surprise, surprise - and was shocked to see seven boys ganging up on another, with three others unconscious or moaning on the ground. Two of the boys had weapons of some kind. The one by himself looked strangely familiar…

"Dammit, Shika-freak!" one boy exclaimed, rubbing his arm furiously from where it had been hit. Shikamaru Nara just smirked.

"If you can't handle it, even _with_ a weapon, then you shouldn't be here. Don't pick battles you can't win," he admonished mockingly. Lupin was torn between amusement and exasperation at the comeback. He was about to clear his throat and step in, when Shikamaru's eyes flashed over to him and he shook his head slightly in an unmistakable gesture.

 _Don't interfere._ So, against his better judgment, Lupin just stood in place, prepared to call attention from his young friend. But...he watched in amazement as Shikamaru completely _decimated_ his foes with ease and grace that Lupin found himself envying a little.

This was no desperate battle for survival on Shikamaru's part, it was cold, instinctual, and the boy had clearly been trained - well. Lupin didn't recognize the fighting style, but Shikamaru hadn't even broken a sweat by the time half of the other boys were down, and they were all bigger and taller than he was.

The ones with weapons were taken out first, clearly the larger threat, and then the ones who were too hasty. Finally there were three of them left, and all Shikamaru had to show for it were bruised knuckles and a couple cuts and scrapes, half of them from the environment rather than the other enemies themselves. So, the boys remaining showed their first bit of common sense and ran for it.

Shikamaru let them, casually examining his hands.

"Not enough," he muttered. Lupin raised an eyebrow.

"That looked pretty impressive to me, a boy taking down seven others," he said. Shikamaru shook his head.

"They were barely a challenge. No training - or brains, apparently - and they didn't even _think_ about team work. No, if I went up against someone who was even somewhat proficient in fighting, I'd be in trouble," he said flatly. He shook his head and stooped down to pick something up for the ground. It looked like a tiny black ring.

"An earring," Shikamaru interrupted.

"What?" Lupin asked. The Nara gave him a look.

"It's an earring. One of mine," he clarified. Lupin frowned slightly.

"But your ears aren't…" he said, gesturing to Shikamaru's noticeably hole-less earlobes.

"Not yet. The adults at the orphanage don't like them; they call boys with pierced ears 'monstrosities'. Something about 'unnatural'. Ha, hypocrites," the latter scoffed. "Anyway, they're what started those idiots in on me." Shikamaru jerked his head in the direction where the other boys had gone.

"I see." But Lupin didn't. Shikamaru sighed.

"It's just...one of the only connections I have to my family," he said, looking everywhere except in Lupin's direction. "I was found with them when I was dropped off at the orphanage, and apparently no one had the heart to take them away."

Lupin felt something inside of him soften at that, but he didn't say something to comfort the boy in front of him. It wouldn't be appreciated, dismissed at best, met with an angry reaction at worst.

"I see," he said again. And this time, he really did. "So, what possessed you to irritate them like that?" he questioned. Shikamaru smirked.

"People are more rash when their angry, and since they were aggravated enough, they just needed a little...push," he said. Lupin shook his head in slight exasperation.

"Wouldn't it have been better to hide?" he wondered.

"No. I needed get them to leave me alone anyway. The past two weeks have been severely troublesome because they wouldn't get the hint," Shikamaru disagreed. "Besides, I can easily beat their top speed, and there's a police station around the corner."

Lupin blinked.

"There's _also_ a fire escape just down the alley that leads to a building with an unlocked door for smokers on the roof, which means that I could have gone inside the building and locked the door behind me, and then claim I got lost when I wandered into the building. People tend to look down on the intelligence of a child, so they probably wouldn't even suspect that I was lying," the Nara continued.

"How many escape plans did you have?" Lupin asked.

"Over ten," his companion said indifferently. "I am many things, but reckless and unprepared I am not."

Lupin felt that he had only just brushed the tip of the iceberg with the level of Shikamaru's intelligence, which was saying something because over ten different escape plans from a _child_ was a bit unbelievable.

…

* * *

 _ **Flashback End**_

"Daydreaming?"

Lupin's thoughts were interrupted by his young companion, who looked far too smug. Better than looking far too world weary, he supposed.

"You caught me," he admitted ruefully. "Sorry."

Shikamaru shrugged it off. "It's fine. I'm not one to talk since I ignore people all the time," he said.

"I wasn't ignoring you," Lupin protested.

"No?" The boy cocked an eyebrow. "What were you doing then?" A mischievous glint appeared in his brown eyes. "Were you thinking about someone _special_ , perhaps?" he asked with a much too innocent expression. Lupin coughed and set down his cup before he spilled.

"Hardly," he said dryly. Shikamaru shrugged.

"A boy can try," he said. Lupin's mouth quirked upwards.

"What about you? Anyone certain come up in your thoughts?" he teased.

"Not anyone I'll be seeing for a long time," Shikamaru deadpanned. There was understanding - somehow - between the two, shared sadness at a thing lost and perhaps to never be regained, and the topic was dropped for a more light hearted one. They eventually said their farewells and went their separate ways, neither knowing that it would be four years before they met again, and that the reunion wouldn't be as nice as this one had been.

...

* * *

 **Present:**

"Well?" Snape asked with a bit of impatience.

The four first years exchanged looks. "I know you aren't as innocent as you are about to try and make yourselves seem, so don't waste my time by attempting to brush it off."

Shikamaru really hated his life at times. As in, he would willingly jump off a cliff right now if he wasn't sure the universe would just spit him into an even worse place for 'failing' his mission. Hell, he'd rather be stuck in Iwa during that period where they really kind of hated Konoha for a month instead of being in this situation (maybe not, but still, this was pretty bad), because they were in no way prepared for this. Any plans for this eventual encounter were barely coherent at best and completely useless at worst.

"Honestly, we don't know a lot," Hermione said slowly. At least the girl wasn't panicking, Shikamaru noticed with approval. "We just have some general ideas."

"Here's what we know," Shikamaru picked up where she trailed off. "Harry is in danger and is a target of someone in this school - we suspect Quirrell."

Snape's eyes sharpened.

" _A_ target?" he drawled. Shikamaru withheld a smirk.

"We believe - through some research - that whatever was held in Gringotts, in the vault that was broken into but nothing was stolen, is here at Hogwarts. It is being guarded by an unknown number of things, and we don't actually know what it is - just that Nicholas Flamel has something to do with it - but if we could _find out_ , it might help us prepare," he continued. Snape raised an unimpressed eyebrow.

"For what?" he asked. Shikamaru let his smirk loose.

"For war, of course," he said smoothly. Hook, line, and sinker. **(2)**

…

* * *

There was silence. Even the other first years were staring at their friend in shock.

"What are you talking about?" Hermione hissed. "We were just researching-"

"Actually," Ron said thoughtfully, interrupting her. She shot him a nasty look. "I don't think we were _just_ researching. Did you think we were just going to learn about the topic and then tell the professors and let them handle it?" Hermione's expression let the room know that that was _exactly_ what she'd thought.

"What," Snape entered coolly, "would a first year like you know about _war_?" He addressed Shikamaru with this question. The latter tilted his head and let some of the bitterness he'd been hiding ever since he'd come to this damn place show in his brown eyes. Snape's eyes narrowed.

"More than you would think, _Professor_ ," Shikamaru said, slowly enunciating his words.

"Can I just say something?" Harry asked, raising his hand like he would in class. Once everyone looked at him, he continued, "I didn't _ask_ for a war to be fought over me. And I'm pretty sure that whatever is hidden behind Fluffy isn't worth getting hurt over. Sure, Quirrell might be evil, but wasn't it the whole idea that we research so that we don't seem like clueless first years in over our heads and like people that actually shouldbe _consulted_? There was never anything mentioned about fighting."

"But we _are_ in over our heads!" Hermione said. "Clearly we don't know what we're doing if we can't even find _one person_ in over two hundred history books."

"Well, if you'd _listened_ to me-" Ron began, but she rounded on him.

"Don't even start!" she said fiercely. "If not for you, we wouldn't even _be_ here, Mister 'I can't keep my voice at a reasonable bloody volume'!"

Harry sighed as Ron turned bright red.

"Enough."

The word was lazy and drawn out, but it got everyone's attention. All eyes turned to the Nara, who had turned to look at Snape.

"We're just giving him evidence that we can't be trusted, seeing as how we can't even agree for ten seconds without blowing up at each other," he said. "Hermione, Ron made a mistake. It happened. Get over it and maybe next time listen to some input from your _friends_. We aren't your underlings and you don't control the research process. If Ron wants to research some other way, than he can, it's a free country."

Hermione went a little pink from shame, and before Ron could send a scathing remark, Shikamaru turned to him.

"Ron, you're an idiot," he said flatly. Harry coughed in surprise, and Ron's mouth fell open. "No, seriously, who the hell just shouts _secret_ plans at the top of his lungs, no matter how frustrated? You would make a terrible spy. However," Shikamaru added slowly, "you're also an excellent strategist for someone our age, which means that your opinion is important and shouldn't be discarded."

The Nara sighed and shook his head ruefully. He turned to Harry.

"Harry...I don't actually have a lot to say to you, because unlike these two, you aren't incredibly argumentative. And all things considered, you've handled yourself fairly well," he said. Harry brightened a little. Shikamaru wasn't one for handing out praise like candy - like some professors, and when he did, it was genuine and actually worth something. So when he said someone did well, that meant that they had done above his average standards of the human population - which was already higher than most people's 'good' standards - and they had done a good enough job that he's recognized and acknowledged it.

"The only thing I can think of is to keep from getting an inflated head. That _includes_ trying to do everything by yourself. Don't become a self-proclaimed martyr and try to 'protect' your friends and insult them at the same time by doubting their intelligence and capabilities. I - for one - would punt you straight into the lake," the Nara warned. Harry paled slightly and nodded.

"How would we actually go about waging war?" Ron asked curiously. "Surely it won't be like your prank war with Mal-" Hermione elbowed him hard in the side, cutting him off. At his furious glare, she jerked her head rather unsubtly at Snape, who didn't look very pleased. Shikamaru sighed and massaged his head with chakra laced fingers. It usually helped.

"-I mean, um…" Ron trailed off, unable to think of a good cover.

"It will be an actual thought out, well planned, and possibly violent war to be taken seriously. Understand that if we do this, there will be need for an _excess_ of caution and absolute dedication. You can't back out once you've started a war," Shikamaru said firmly. Unbeknownst to him, he had slipped into his 'commanding officer' mode, causing the other students to straighten instinctively, while Snape eyed him contemplatively.

"There will be no fooling around, no reckless actions, and _no_ shouting of plans." This last bit was aimed at Ron, who shrugged helplessly.

"Guilty," he said glumly.

"There will _also_ need to be teamwork, which means not jumping down each other's throats every five seconds," Shikamaru said pointedly, eyeing Ron and Hermione.

"I-no- _we_ will do our best to keep from arguing constantly," the latter said earnestly. Ron nodded.

"Sorry, mate," he said.

"I'll even try and keep them from going at it," Harry piped up.

Shikamaru looked at their determined faces, and for a fraction of a second, he was back in Konoha in the briefing room with his old companions looking back at him, trust and determined confidence in their eyes. Then he met Snape's eyes and the moment was gone, leaving him a bit more shaken then he was willing to admit. The professor didn't say anything but he had a thoughtful look in his black eyes that made Shikamaru feel wary.

"And in answer to your question, Professor, there have been multiple attempts on either Harry's life or to take the object in this castle. It's getting extremely irritating, and if we don't at least _try_ to retaliate, it will probably only get worse. Worst case scenario is someone dies," the Nara said, giving Snape a hard look. "I want to prevent that from happening." Snape didn't answer and just gave him a searching look.

"Have you decided what you're going to do about us?"

"I could tell the headmaster and have you expelled on the spot," the man said with a faint sneer - a _challenging_ one. _Convince me_ , his eyes dared.

' _Oh, it's on,'_ Shikamaru thought. He could talk his way out of a life-threatening political disaster. This would be a cakewalk. "You could," he agreed carelessly. He ignored the alarmed looks he got.

"Or, you could allow us to help out. We could get information that would take you more time to get," he continued.

"You think I need help from some _first years_?" Yep, there was the pronounced sneer.

"No," the Nara said slowly. "But Intel is Intel, no matter the source. Besides, whoever is behind this wouldn't think to suspect some first years. We could interrogate without suspicion behind the guise of education. You, however, automatically make people put up their guards."

"I could easily find some students of my own to do these things," Snape said.

"But we've already researched into the topic. Bringing in other people would waste time and possibly effort if they decline, and there's no guarantee they would keep absolute secrecy, which could lead to a whole slew of problems. Besides, who here would really care about protecting something that is already being defended by Hogwarts and Dumbledore himself - if not directly?" Shikamaru countered. His friends looked back and forth between him and Snape, as if watching a tennis match.

"Besides, what with Dumbledore being from Gryffindor, he might just reward us for 'helping our friends in times of need', or something, like McGonagall did with the troll," Shikamaru added. Clearly the thought had occurring to Snape as well, for the man's mouth twisted and his expression soured.

"Look at it this way, Professor," Shikamaru said, "if you _did_ manage to get us expelled, you'd have to explain why to the Weasley family, which would then lead to questions about why you would hide such a coveted item or items at Hogwarts, where _children_ reside. It would be easier to just let us go on with our business. We're too careful to hurt anyone except for maybe ourselves anyway, and then you can tell us, 'I told you so' if that does happen."

The world seemed to hold its breath as Snape stared with an unreadable expression at Shikamaru. Then, he seemed to come to a decision and straightened, inadvertently causing everyone else to stiffen in anticipation. He raised an eyebrow, opened his mouth, and said-

…

* * *

Harry still couldn't believe it two days later. Shock still made him absent minded, which, in turn, usually irritated those around him. (Not surprising considering his company these days.) Shikamaru had seemed so confident...Harry wondered how he'd done it. _He_ would have been shaking where he stood, but maybe it helped that Snape didn't hate Shikamaru as much.

Whatever the case, Harry absolutely could not believe that Snape had _agreed to their aid_. **(3)**

…

* * *

"You say _one more word_ ," Theodore Nott - more commonly known as Theo or Nott, never Teddy (because he was _"-not a bloody stuffed animal, damn it-"_ ) warned Ron through gritted teeth. The redhead ignored him, studiously muttering under his breath.

"That's it," Nott said, making to stand up.

"Sit down and stop whining, Theo," Blaise said irritably from where he was sandwiched between Hermione and Millicent Bulstrode. No one looked happy about that arrangement. Shikamaru groaned and let his head fall forward onto the desk.

"Troublesome idiots," he said, addressing the room as a whole. "We have _one_ more day until holiday break. Don't kill or maim each other, and I'll get you all a bloody chocolate frog."

"Hmph," Daphne Greengrass sniffed from her seat beside Neville. "You're just lucky that Professor Snape ordered us to cooperate. Though I don't know _why_ …"

"Professor Snape told Shikamaru that he was "Quite Slytherin" for convincing him like he did," Hermione interjected, "for your information."

"Someone want to wake up Potter?" Blaise drawled, looking over to one of the other tables where the other boy was dozing. In his defense, he'd had Quidditch practice right before a six hour 'study' session with members of the other houses. "He'll be catching flies soon enough."

"More's the pity," Theo muttered, causing Ron to scowl at him across their table.

"I'm sure we can get along," Susan Bones interjected from beside Shikamaru. "Nara is right; it's only for one more day."

"You're the _only_ one who thinks so, lady," Nott said rather nastily. Despite easily being the shortest one there with a somewhat weedy stature to boot, Nott was a sarcastic smart mouth with a cutting tongue and a poker face to rival Shikamaru's at times.

"Don't speak to a lady like that," Ernie Macmillan said pompously from Shikamaru's table. "We must always treat women with the respect and dignity they deserve."

"Oh, shut it," Nott snapped. Clearly, being in the same room as three Gryffindors, a Ravenclaw, and a group of Hufflepuffs was trying his temper. Ron's incessant verbal pokes weren't helping matters.

"Please quiet down, _some_ of us are trying to finish before midnight," Terry Boot said to the room at large, scowling at his tablemates. Nott and Ron remained unimpressed.

"If I didn't owe Nara over there-" Nott started.

"Yes, yes, you would terrify us with your fearsome magical prowess'," Hermione said waspishly. She looked very irritated, having dealt admirably well with snide comments about her heritage from the Slytherins all evening, and hints that she should have ended up in Ravenclaw from Boot, but even a saint would have trouble keeping his peace, and Hermione was hardly an angel in disguise.

"Since you can't, and I'm sure Shikamaru would stop you anyway, not even mentioning what _Professor Snape_ would do for acting so idiotically, it would be to the benefit of all if you just shut your mouth," she finished, aiming a steely glare in his direction. Nott was unimpressed, if his scoff was anything to go by, but even Greengrass was looking annoyed by this point, so he let it go.

"Shikamaru, is this relevant? It's a small article from a local newspaper where Quirrell was last year," Neville asked. Shikamaru held up a hand without raising his head and was given the paper. He eyed it and sat up in interest. It was a rather absurd piece that no one would look at twice since it was about an 'Evil Spirit' that took the bodies of different types of snakes. It was 'exorcised' by a local shaman the week after the appearance of Quirrell, and the locals threw a celebration to rejoice. There was even a blurry picture of _something_ darting around a tree.

"I should show this to Professor Snape," he muttered.

"He might already know," Hermione said reasonably. "Besides, this just adds to the suspicion that he's behind this whole thing."

"But if he's being _possessed_ , it's something else entirely," he pointed out. "It could actually be an evil spirit, and if that's the case, he's also a victim."

"Do we believe in possession?" Hermione asked skeptically. Shikamaru shrugged.

"Why not? Besides, it isn't really a matter of believing as putting facts together. There is something strange happening here. Look, accounts from the villagers in a report on Quirrell that never made it to the public because the person covering it died if a heart attack, which coincidentally happened two days before Quirrell returned to Great Britain," he said, pulling out a folder stuffed full of notes and paper clippings.

"Where did you get this?" Hermione asked in amazement.

"The benefits of being well connected," Greengrass said smugly from the table beside her's.

"Also, there is a wizarding piece about some strange lights caused by magic. Obliviators arrived, but their job was already done for them. The locals didn't remember a thing about Quirrell, other than the fact that he had visited, and Quirrell himself was long gone," Shikamaru continued, hoping to forestall the impending argument. He nodded his thanks to Bones for the information, who smiled in return.

"So...what are we supposed to say? Just that Quirrell is suspicious? We already knew that," she said.

"'We' won't say anything, I will tell him later, under guise of an extra Potions lesson," Shikamaru corrected. Boot looked up in interest.

"Are you bad enough that it's believable?" he asked.

"Who said anything about being bad? The first year coursework is too easy for him, everyone in our Potions class knows he's really smart," Neville said with some confusion. As if wondering how people _didn't_ know that Shikamaru was incredibly intelligent. Boot gaped.

"Why aren't _you_ in Ravenclaw?" he demanded, rounding on the ninja. "First Granger and now you, why are all the geniuses going to _Gryffindor_?"

Shikamaru smirked and Hermione turned pink.

"I - for one - don't want to focus all the time on studies. Besides, Gryffindor is fun," the former said, tipping back in his chair with a yawn. Boot grumbled but didn't refute the statement.

"You couldn't handle the crazy that is Shikamaru Nara anyway," Hermione added.

"I could say the same about you, woman," the aforementioned crazy person muttered.

"Find anything on Flamel yet?" Ron asked Boot. The boy shook his head.

"No," he sighed. "How can a person just not exist in this century?" Nott, who had been reclining in his chair, perked up a bit.

"Maybe we're going about it all wrong," he said.

"What do you mean?" Boot frowned.

"So, what if this guy is really old? He could possibly be in books about different centuries," the Slytherin said logically. The table plus Hermione - who had been listening in - gaped at him. "What?" he sneered. "Surprised the Slytherin knows something?"

"You're _amazing_!" Hermione squealed, causing the entire library to stare at her. "Why didn't _I_ think of that? Of course! He might not even be _alive_! And here I was, this entire time, just assuming…" She jumped up and darted away.

"Is she always so excitable?" Bulstrode grumbled.

"I'm surprised you know what that word means," Nott muttered.

"Shut up," she snarled. "You're just mad 'cuz an ickle Gryffie recognized your questionable worth before anyone from our own house." Nott paled and his eyes glittered angrily.

"Theo, Millie, Rule One. Shut _up_ ," Blaise snapped. Greengrass inspected her nails.

"Oh, yes, Zabini. You tell them," she said with mock respect.

"You too," he warned. She shrugged but didn't say anything. Shikamaru sighed and was glad he'd had the foresight to place them at different tables. With Nott at Ron's and Boot's table, the latter two would keep him from riling too many people up. Blaise with Hermione was good because he - of all of the Slytherins - knew how to keep his mouth shut, and helped reign in Bulstrode's temper. Surprisingly, Neville and Harry with Greengrass wasn't a disaster. The latter had declared Neville cute like a mouse (which wasn't really all that assuring considering that snakes _ate_ mice, but Shikamaru would be able to stop it if the metaphor went too far...probably), and Harry not that bad for a "Muggle-loving pretty boy". They, in turn, acknowledged that she was far superior to Pansy Parkinson in both intelligence and looks.

And finally, himself and Bones kept Macmillan's more...eccentric tendencies at bay with flat looks and careful words, respectively. Each group had a different task, and they weren't to share with the other groups what they were doing. That way, each person that wasn't part of the quintet of Gryffindors wouldn't know the whole picture, and would therefore be in less danger if questioned and having plausible innocence. Since the Slytherins obeyed Snape without question and didn't really care one way or another, and the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs were either interested in the knowledge or too polite to ask, the system worked well.

"Alright, you troublesome people," Shikamaru said, standing up. Everyone looked at him expectantly. "That's enough for today - tonight, actually. Go home tomorrow and don't worry about this for the rest of the hols. Relax and rest up, because when you get back-" cue evil smirk that made more than one person shiver "-I'll have a research plan from hell ready for you."

The Slytherins scoffed it off and left, each nodding at the Nara before exiting the library. He had - somehow - managed to earn their respect at least, which was a blessing because that meant they would listen to him without too much fuss. The Hufflepuffs and lone Ravenclaw were next, each giving a more amiable farewell then their schoolmates.

"Harry, c'mon, mate, you gotta get up," Ron said, shaking his friend. Harry awoke with a start and looked around blearily.

"Wha'd I miss?" he asked thickly, reaching for his glasses.

"Only about three hours of research," Ron said, rolling his eyes. "If you were that tired, you should have gone to the dorm. At least then you would have been in a _bed_."

"Oh...sorry," the former said.

"Get him to bed," Shikamaru said, shaking his head. "Let's go, Neville, Hermione." The three ambled wearily to their common room, and for the first time in weeks, Shikamaru felt like they were actually _doing_ something. It wasn't much, it wasn't big, but it was certainly more than the whopping amount of _nothing_ that was accomplished beforehand.

…

* * *

"Shikamaru! Get up! It's Christmas!"

The Nara was very rudely pulled from a half-decent night of sleep (the first in about two weeks) by his excited friend, who looked _far_ too energetic for- _four in the morning_. What. The. Fuck.

"Ron, I think he might not li-okay," Harry sighed, having not warned Ron in time for the redhead to dodge the pillow that was smacked across his face, sending him flailing to the floor. Harry had to admit that the amount of force behind the blow was impressive considering the object wielded.

"Merry Christmas, everybody," he said to no one in particular. Neville - who had woken up to see Ron fall off of Shikamaru's bed - giggle (yes, giggled people) and pulled the presents piled on his bed towards him. Seamus and Dean looked at each other, shrugged, and followed suit.

Shikamaru, having gotten over his pique about getting up earlier than the damn birds, started unwrapping his presents.

"Hell, mate," Ron groaned. "Are you sure that hormone stuff is out of your system? You seem a little...a little…" he trailed off as Shikamaru gave him a look that just _dared_ him to discover the consequences of finishing that sentence. Ron huffed. "Someone's grumpy this morning," he muttered, and flinched slightly as Shikamaru upped his leaking killing intent.

The Nara studiously ignored his friend's discomfort in favor of looking over the gifts he'd gotten. From Neville was a nice book on aquatic plants that could be used for everything from decoration to tea to potion ingredients. Hermione has gifted him a large box of Drooble's Best Blowing Gum which he set aside for later, slightly touched that she had remembered that he wasn't overly fond of sweets like their friends. Harry had given him a nice luxury raven-feather quill that had been decorated with silver paint. Even the twins had given him something - a book on more advanced charms that weren't taught in school, but were still appropriately leveled for his age group. Then, he saw something he hadn't expected to see.

"That's from my mum," Ron muttered, turning slightly pink as both he and Harry unwrapped their...sweaters? His was black. "I told her that you and Harry weren't really expecting presents this year," the Weasley continued.

"That's nice of her. Give her my thanks," Shikamaru said. His voice was a little tight (holy hell, when was the last time he'd had something _homemade_?), but he hoped Ron wouldn't notice.

"Yeah, this fudge looks great," Harry agreed. Ron brightened and turned back to his presents, embarrassment forgotten. He thanked Shikamaru for the miniature figure of a Chudley Cannons player, complete with a mini-broomstick that enabled it to zoom around on small surfaces. Harry was a bit captivated with the snow globe of Hogwarts that Shikamaru had made for him (it had been a tricky mix of charm work and transfiguration) that snowed gently during the winter, rained and made rainbows in the spring, had sunny and cloudless days during the summer, and blew around different, brightly colored leaves. The ninja felt his mouth turn up at the corners and turned back to his own presents.

"Is that what I think it is?" Ron asked in an awed voice. Shikamaru looked up to see Harry run a silvery material through his hands. "Put it on!" Ron urged.

Harry shrugged and did so, standing up and draping the cloak (?) around his shoulders. And-he was gone. Shikamaru's heart skipped a beat before Harry's head reappeared.

"It is! Look in the mirror!" Ron exclaimed. "It's an invisibility cloak! They're really valuable and really rare."

Harry looked as amazed as Shikamaru felt suspicious.

"Who gave it to you?" the latter asked.

"I dunno...the card said it was my dad's," Harry answered slowly. Well damn. Shikamaru couldn't put suspicion on it or the person who sent it now. Harry had that doe-eyed look about him. Just then, the door burst open and the Weasley twins sprang through it, each wearing a sweater. The Nara noticed Harry stuff his cloak out of sight and approved. No need to make it general knowledge.

"Merry Christmas, all!" Fred exclaimed.

"Your guys' present should be here soon, Hypatia must have been delayed," Shikamaru said, frowning a little. "Would you wait here for a few minutes? Ron, Harry, you go on ahead." The two first years shrugged and obeyed.

Shikamaru turned back to the twins. "There's another reason. I got you similar things that are somewhat small because full-sized versions are more expensive," he confessed.

"That's alright, I'm sure whatever they are will be fine for both of us," Fred said easily.

"That's right, we're used to being identical," George agreed cheerfully. Just then, there was a tap at the window and Shikamaru turned to see Hypatia and another two owls waiting. He opened the window and inspected the newest arrivals. Hypatia looked fine, if a bit harried, and he resolved to give her extra treats. She deserved it.

The other owls - each a thirteen inch long, female short-eared owl - one was a nice mottle brown with intelligent yellow eyes and the other was a tawny color with identical yellow eyes. They cooed in sync uncertainly.

"Fred, George, meet your new owls."

…

* * *

Fred was a simple person with simple needs (yes, he was, shut up, George). So, when Shikamaru explained that he and George would be getting similar presents, he wasn't _very_ disappointed (because he thought that the younger boy, at least, saw him and his brother as different people, but that wasn't fair because he knew what it was like to be unable to afford something), and then his reservations flew out the window when Shikamaru gave them each a _freaking owl_.

Fred had wanted an owl for a long time, ever since Percy got one, actually. Hermes was the first owl that he or his siblings had seen that actually seemed like the fierce, bird of prey that owls should be. Errol really didn't count because he was accident and feeble, and probably should have been retired by now (yes, owls were retired once they could no longer served, and they lived out the rest of their lives in relative comfort and peace). Of course, Percy wasn't really one for sharing his owl with his mischievous twin brothers, so they almost never got to use a _healthy_ owl.

The fact that Shikamaru had somehow registered their - _his_ \- desire for a useful creature, and for something that was given to them and not to Them (because as much as he loved his twin, they were different people, dammit). He then registered that Shikamaru was still speaking.

"-the only siblings there. They're not fully grown, and it was a decision between them and an adult, but I figured that just handling letters would be enough for now, and that you would each want your own, just in case. They're natural colors in case you're ever worried about stealth, and they're fairly common outside of cities, and they get along alright. But, if you want, when the school year is over, you can go trade them in for an adult," the Nara said. Fred gaped at him. And then realization struck him.

 _'He's worried we won't like them...that we're upset that he got something for each of us instead of for both of us,'_ Fred thought. He detected faint...nervousness in Shikamaru's normally calm expression. He and his twin shared look and nodded (Shikamaru had given them a gift far better than either owl; he had acknowledged their experience as _separate_ people. Fred sometimes thought that people forgot that he and his brother were _twins_ , not the same person).

Shikamaru's rambling - coherent and logical as it was - was interrupted as two arms were thrown around his shoulders. His abrupt stop would have been a rather comical in another situation. The three owls twittered around them curiously.

"Shikamaru," George said seriously, looking his friend in the eye.

"Thanks," Fred added emphatically. "This means a lot. We don't care about the size really; we can wait for the owls to grow."

"I know," Shikamaru sighed. "I would have gotten bigger owls if I could, but the whole twin theme here is contagious.."

Fred grinned as he saw the appreciation and relief in the Nara's eyes.

"Now, we can fool around even more. The owls will be great since we can make private orders without using Errol."

"No more identity pranks when these guys are around," George said; though he didn't sound too beat up about it. "And, just out of curiosity, how can _you_ tell us apart?"

Shikamaru smirked. "For one as attentive as me," he said with mock superiority, "the differences are obvious."

He gestured at George. "You're the planner, usually. The one who makes sure the pranks don't blow up in your faces - literally. You're also a bit more patient, meaning you'll wait about five seconds more before getting mad. Not a big difference, but it is there. Also, while your twin likes the red aspect of the Gryffindor colors, I think you like gold more."

Shikamaru ignored the gob smacked expression and turned to Fred. "You come up with the pranks. The target, what you want to happen, whatever. You also tend to lead so that if there's any blame, a _little_ bit more of it will fall on you than on George. You two are almost identical in looks, but _every_ set of identical twins have _some_ characteristics that tell them apart.

'Fred, your hair is slightly curled in the back, and George, you have more freckles on your cheeks while Fred has more on his forehead. Also, George, you have a faint line on your right wrist. A scar from something? Fred, you have a really small birthmark on your neck, it's sort of hidden by your hair though. I probably see more, but the rest is all subconsci-erk!" Shikamaru was cut off as the twins dragged him into a rather awkward but nice-all-the-same group hug.

…

* * *

The Nara sighed. He was going to get cavities and have to go visit Hermione's parents. Oh, well, he would get the twins to pay for his dental bills.

"Wow, you should be a detective or something," Fred joked, pulling back with suspiciously bright eyes.

"No kidding. _I_ didn't know about the freckles," George agreed.

"Well, unless you're in the habit of staring at a mirror all day, you wouldn't have," Shikamaru told him in amusement. The two grinned and there was a silence.

"We have to go get Percy!" Fred said suddenly. "He's going to try and sit with the Prefects."

"Not this year he isn't," George declared. "I will threaten him with dive bombing owls. Two of them."

"I like how you think, brother mine," Fred said. He turned to Shikamaru. "Come on, then, we've got to catch up with everyone." The Nara shrugged and was escorted from the dormitory.

Maybe Christmas wasn't that bad. He could try introducing it to Konoha when he returned (because he _would_ return).

The rest of the day was spent eating, playing in the snow (read: throwing snowballs at each other) and generally enjoying each other's company. Hermione sent an ecstatic letter filled with praises at Shikamaru's gift (a clear glass sphere that had been charmed to show pieces of space in beautiful detail, including the known planets and constellations), and the members of the research group still at the castle were amused that Shikamaru had fulfilled his promise in giving them all exactly one chocolate frog, still wrapped up.

The feast was spectacular. The food was perfect, the decorations made the entire place seem brighter, and the wizard crackers were much more entertaining than the cheap muggle ones. Shikamaru only pulled one - and gave his gift subtly to the person beside him (a festive mood would only take him so far, and he did _not_ wear flower hats).

He went back to the Gryffindor common room with the others and watched in no small amount of amusement as Harry lost spectacularly to Ron multiple times in Wizard's Chess. That night, he was so tired that he fell asleep almost instantly, which is why he missed the fact that Harry slipped out with his new invisibility cloak.

…

* * *

"What's with Harry today? He seems...distant," Shikamaru noted.

"Nothing, he just made a discovery last night," Ron said. "I'll let him tell you."

And indeed Harry did.

"You went sneaking out again," the Nara deadpanned.

"I had an invisibility cloak," Harry said defensively.

"Does that cloak keep things from being able to smell you too?" Shikamaru asked patiently. Harry frowned slightly.

"Maybe?" he tried. Shikamaru sighed.

"Mrs. Norris could have caught you," he said, raising an unimpressed eyebrow.

"W-well, I wanted to tell you that I saw a mirror. A special mirror that showed me my family," Harry said quickly. Shikamaru blinked. "I mean, I know they're dead and all, but...I actually got to see them for the first time, and it was...amazing!"

Shikamaru didn't like what he was hearing. There was no way the mirror could know without looking into a person's mind.

"I'm going back tonight. Do you want to come with me?" Harry asked tentatively. Shikamaru thought it over and eventually nodded. He would be able to keep Filch away, along with that damn cat.

That night, the three of them - Harry, Ron and Shikamaru - went looking for what Harry described as a "full length mirror with strange runes on it". They didn't find it for some time, and Ron was all for going back, when Harry found it again. He displayed it almost proudly, which made Shikamaru a little nervous. He hoped that Harry wasn't getting...attached.

Ron described what he was seeing, and Shikamaru felt a suspicion tug on his brain. Then, it was his turn - and his breath caught in spite of his earlier resolution to keep the thing from bothering him.

He saw Temari and Shikadai. That wasn't incredibly unusual, he thought about them all the time. But...he also saw his dad and Asuma. His mom, Chōji and Ino waved cheerfully, and he could see the entirety of the Rookie Nine along with Gai's team there (was that the Power of Youth?). Neji was there as well, which confused him because they hadn't been particularly close before the other had died. But there were three people there who were most certainly dead.

He clenched his jaw and forced himself to turn away from the sight of Temari smiling invitingly at him - hell, even Gaara was there! Smiling faintly, even. Shikadai looked as indifferent as ever, but there was that heartbreakingly familiar glint of pleasure in his teal eyes. Shikamaru pushed the wave of sheer _longing_ away and turned to his bickering friends, who stopped at the sight of his completely blank and closed off expression. It scared them, a little. The Nara wasn't incredibly expressive, true, but he usually showed more than the _nothing_ that was displayed now.

"We're going back to the common room. Now." His tone brooked no argument, and the two didn't argue. "Harry." His friend looked at him questioningly. "Don't come back here again."

Harry frowned. "But-!" he began, when Shikamaru raised his hand.

"No. I will _tie you down_ if I have to, but you _will_ go mad if you obsess over this thing. It shows what you most desire, and since your family is dead, you can't have it. It isn't healthy or wise to try and wish for things that have already passed. _Promise_ me that you will stay away from here," the Nara said so seriously that Harry stared in shock. Shikamaru had never spoken so seriously. Harry looked closer at his friend and Shikamaru knew that he saw just a hint of shadows in the brown eyes, no matter how closed off, and seemed to make his decision. He didn't ask what his friend saw (which made Shikamaru feel eternally grateful to him) and he seemed to resolve to never come back, if only to keep his friend from looking like this ever again.  
"Alright," he agreed. "I promise."

Shikamaru relaxed a little, and his shoulders relaxed (when had they become so stiff? So guarded?) and his expression opened up again. Harry probably still saw the shadows, but they weren't so prominent now.

"Let's leave this place. We've got holiday homework," the Nara said. Ron groaned and Harry grinned. But, as they left - once more under the cloak - Shikamaru noticed his friend switching his gaze between himself and the mirror. And he knew that he wouldn't be the only one having unpleasant dreams tonight.

…

* * *

Albus Dumbledore thought over the conundrums that were Harry Potter and Shikamaru Nara. The latter was smart, _very_ smart. The boy had not only recognized the mirror for what it did, but he also realized the dangers of what could happen to those who became enthralled with it. He had also managed to convince a fellow classmate to leave it alone, a noteworthy fact in of itself.

He resolved to keep a closer eye on the two. With Shikamaru Nara and his other friends, Harry might just grow up to be the savior that they would so desperately need.

* * *

 **(1): So, Shikamaru** _ **isn't**_ **being physically abused, he's just a somewhat paranoid war veteran that watches for threats out of habit. Lupin's just drawing the wrong conclusions, because really, who would expect a** _ **ten year-old**_ **to behave like a war veteran?**

 **(2): Man, Shikamaru's waging war on everyone, isn't he? It wasn't really supposed to be like this, but his friends are in danger so…**

 **(3): Scared you there, didn't I?**

* * *

 **Guest Reviews (Bottom to Top):**

 **Guest:** **Oh yeah, Shikamaru's gonna be real empathetic by the time this ends. Thanks for the review!**

 **ErSa:** **Glad you liked it enough to review. Thanks for that, by the way, and I hope this was soon enough for you?**

* * *

 **A/N: Dumbledore's attention has officially been caught. Wonder what's going to happen next? No, seriously, I'm wondering because my ideas are a little dry. Oh well. Anyway, I have been wanting to write this particular chapter for SO long, but this pesky thing called a plot kept getting in my way. What'd you think about the owls? How Shikamaru was able to afford them will be explained later (probably during the summer of the first year) so that isn't a plot hole.**

 **Also, Shikamaru's energies (chakra and magic) are currently SEPARATE energies. They will undergo changes, but that's for another chapter. One of my favorite authors favorited my story and I was like "AHHHH!" so, yeah. I won't go spilling names to keep it anonymous, but anyway, I'm suuper happy right now. Thanks for reading, please review! (Also, half a thousand follows? What is my life! I'm so thrilled at how well recieved this story has been!)**

 **SOMETHING IMPORTANT TO BE ADDRESSED:**

 **No Naruto characters besides Shikamaru will physically or mentally come to the Harry Potter world. Unless Shikamaru is dreaming or having a flashback, or looking at the Mirror of Erised or something similar, there will be no more Naruto characters. Sorry for those of you who wanted Temari or Naruto to show up and kick ass, but it won't happen. Just thought I'd clear that up for future questions.**

* * *

 **RECOMMENDATIONS:** **(Tell me if you like them and if you have any of your own)**

 **The Biggest Toad in the Puddle - Tsume Yuki: Crossover in which Harry is reborn in the Naruto world as Jiraiya's son. A wonderful read with realistic strength levels and such, and characters too. The only problem is that it hasn't updated in a year and a half! Rated T and is totally awesome.**

 **Dogtags - TwinTrouble: Another fabulous writer creates a wonderful story. Not a crossover, but AUish where Naruto isn't in Konoha, but he isn't dark either. I don't want to give away too much, so go read it. Know that Team Seven is present and that there** _ **are**_ **a few OCs, but they're okay. Kakashi is very prominent, for those of you who like the parental stuff. Rated T, but there are some darker themes, so read with caution.**


	9. Chapter 9: Cue: Facepalm

_**Summary:**_ **Motivated, miffed, and magical, Shikamaru Nara was a force to behold. Whoever had placed him here was going to get it, but first he'd have to get through a school for magic. And he'd thought ninjas could be stupid. Troublesome.**

 _ **Rating:**_ **T, and should stay that way.**

 _ **Genres:**_ **Friendship, Adventure, Hurt/Comfort, maybe more, I don't know yet.**

 _ **Warnings:**_ **Language, implied/mentioned child abuse/neglect, and not a lot of angst – just some good old fashioned exclusion, hmm…Shikamaru gets a little mad – but not without reason, non-canon stuff going on, probably some OOCness,** **warnings are individual per chapter, might change next chapter or might not** **. No slash or yaoi, yuri, Shounen Ai, or Shōjo Ai. Incest? Hows about no?**

 _ **Pairings:**_ **As far as romance goes, it's canon for both series. Friendship!Shikamaru/Harry &Ron&Hermione&Neville&Fred&George. Mentorship(maybe)!Snape/Snape. Probable Father!Lupin/Shikamaru. I might add more later, if I think of it.**

 _ **Disclaimer:**_ **I cannot own either of these on account of…not mine.**

* * *

 **Oh yeah, special thanks to Calmest Card for being the 100** **th** **reviewer!** _ **Ding, ding**_ **! No real prizes, but I appreciate it a lot.**

* * *

"Speech"

' _Thoughts'_

 _Emphasis on words_

 **(#) A/N at end to explain stuff**

 **Time Skip or Given Time**

Regular text

* * *

 **A Shadow in Wizard's Robes Chapter 9: Cue: Facepalm**

 **By: AngelicSilverWolf**

' _Wrong does not cease to be wrong because the majority share it.' – Leo Tolstoy, A Confession_

* * *

 **Age 8: Three years before Hogwarts**

Shikamaru needed money. He would be going to Hogwarts in a few years, which meant the need for school supplies would be a thing. The Caretakers had agreed to provide for the very basics during the first year, and then he was on his own. So. What to do about this. Obviously, no business in their right mind would hire an eight year-old, which meant working under a Henge, or doing local jobs in a small neighborhood.

He could start out small and get some written recommendations that validated his work ethic (which would have to be diligent and hardworking), so that his Henge would stand a chance against the multitude of people who were actually the age they looked. So, he snuck a map from one of the orphanage adults and studied it until he was fairly comfortable with the city and its surrounding area. Then, he got himself banished from the premises of the orphanage for six hours and hitched a ride on a train that took him out of London and to another place an hour away from his orphanage. He prepped himself to look like an innocent child just looking for some pocket money (when what he was working for was actually much more important), and readied himself to become naive and inexperienced.

He had researched the little neighborhood he was currently in, and the crime rates were practically nonexistent, and the population was big enough that he wouldn't have to go to the same people over and over again, but he could still build up a reputation. The first person - after inquiring about his parents - allowed him to take her small dog on a walk around the block for five pounds. Not bad, she was probably being generous because of his age. Twelve minutes later, he returned the dog and ventured to ask who else would be willing to let him work.

The woman smiled kindly at him and directed him to her friend down the street, promising that he would be able to afford that book he really wanted if he just kept asking around. Shikamaru thanked her with wide and innocent brown eyes that rivaled Naruto's begging ones, and a polite bow. He left her cooing to herself and skipped off to the friend, the perfect picture of a joyful young child thinking about their desire (on the inside, he was grumbling because his friends from Konoha would never let him hear the end of this if they ever heard about it. But they wouldn't because this was going with him to the grave).

The friend turned out to be a nice little granny who - after ascertaining his purpose for taking a job - sent him to get some groceries from the local market. She gave him a small sum with the promise that he could keep the change. Considering that there were only about three things on the list, fifteen pounds was incredibly generous. Therefore, he made sure to get her good quality items in return.

She sent him to her nephew's house a street over, and the process continued for another four hours. By the end he was quite weary and had over thirty pounds stuffed in his pockets. Some of it went towards another ticket back to London, and then he decided to treat himself to a nice meal from a small restaurant that sold Italian food. In the orphanage, Shikamaru carefully placed his money inside a blood seal on his arm, storing the amount in his head. He wasn't sure how much muggle money ran for in comparison to wizard money, but it would probably take him a while to compile enough to open his own bank account in Gringotts. He vaguely remembered someone saying something about it taking a hundred Galleons to open a vault **(1)** , so it would probably take him all summer to acquire that amount.

Accordingly, he spent the next two months going back to that town at random intervals to take up jobs for different reasons. Whether it was to buy that "cool hat in the clothing store", or to purchase a set of science components for an experiment, the people there were always more than happy to give him little chores and generous amounts of money in return for a job well done. He was glad that such good people still existed.

At the end of the summer, he had three notes of recommendation (which he'd told the people he needed because his father had made a bet with him), and about one hundred and fifty pounds, give or take a few pence. He made his way to Gringotts and exchanged it all for wizarding money. It ended up being just enough to open a vault, and he got his own little key that was gold, and the vault number three hundred and seventy-two (the goblins didn't care enough to ask any questions about his age, wizarding laws were different than theirs, after all).

He spent a week looking for a more permanent job, and ended up getting one as a janitor in a small business. There he was known as Lee Kotetsu, and he got about ten dollars an hour since he was only working part time. School starting up again complicated some things, but he was able to make it work. He would quit during his time at Hogwarts, but until then...he built up his arsenal of magical items.

He bought books on the basics of all sorts of subjects, ranging from wandless magic to history. He went into Knockturn Alley and managed to get someone to remove the annoying trace on his new wand, for a somewhat expensive price, but privacy was more important than any number of Galleons. He built up a small supply of potion ingredients and instruction books, and found himself enjoying the brewing process, it was quite relaxing. He taught himself a number of household charms to make living in the orphanage easier, and he learned that he had decent aptitude with Occlumency. Of course, it was hard to know if he was doing things correctly without proper instruction, but he was nothing if not determined, and he used Kage Bunshin to help him with his potions and mental testing.

Overall, his eighth year wasn't too bad. And then that damn psychologist showed up.

…

* * *

 **Present:**

To say that the next half of the year would be busy was an understatement. Hermione returned and they eventually discovered that Nicolas Flamel was the creator of the Sorcerer's Stone.

"No wonder Quirrell wants it," Ron said as he stared at his friends. "A stone that gives immortality _and_ turns things to gold is just _asking_ to get stolen."

"The question is: why would they hide it here?" Zabini - who had been part of that particular research team - drawled. "Yeah, Dumbledore is here, but there are hundreds of children here as well. Do they _want_ collateral damage?"

"Maybe they thought that Dumbledore would be enough to keep people away," Harry murmured.

"And we're _sure_ it's Quirrell?" Bulstrode asked. Everyone knew that Quirrell was a person of interest, just as a precaution to be careful around the man.

"Pretty sure, yeah," Hermione said, rolling her eyes. "If the attempt on Harry's life wasn't enough, Harry overhearing his conversation with Snape is pretty damning."

The Quidditch match concerning that particular conversation had occurred just two days ago and had been overheard and relayed by Harry, who had said that Quirrell was a scary good actor. If he hadn't already been convinced that the man was up to no good, he would have felt very sorry for him, facing Snape like that. Neville was enjoying some positive attention from the study group that had been so vigorously researching Flamel, since it had been his Chocolate Frog card that had led Hermione to have her epiphany. The others no longer looked at him with derision in their eyes, and he was more on a neutral standpoint, which was a major improvement from the cutting remarks he had gotten beforehand. It almost made up for what Malfoy had done to him.

Almost.

Shikamaru - after taking one look at his distressed friend - had disappeared for two hours, and then had returned with a satisfied smirk on his face. He hadn't said anything on the matter, no matter the curiosity at his expression, and even the twins hadn't known what he'd done.

It was clear - the next morning - that whatever he'd done had affected Malfoy badly. The blond had been paler than usual with dark shadows under his eyes, and every time his eyes had landed on the Nara, he had flinched or dropped whatever was in his hands. When asked, he had denied anything was wrong and ordered everyone to go about their own business (although with less arrogance and confidence than usual).

Eventually, Nott approached Shikamaru with a look of vicious approval on his face and congratulated the Nara for "-scaring Malfoy shitless". This only made everyone else more curious, but Shikamaru only ever smirked.

Once, he said, "I just made sure that Malfoy wouldn't curse Neville or any other of my friends again like he did with the Leg-Locker. I'm done with his superiority bullshit. If he has a problem, I told him to take it up with me." **(2)** And the others left him alone after that. There wasn't really a need to investigate further, and it was pretty damn funny to see Malfoy so twitchy for three weeks straight. Unfortunately, he eventually regained some semblance of his previous manner, but everyone noticed that he avoided the Nara like the plague. Shikamaru's expression told all what he thought about that.

 _I win._

…

* * *

"Troublesome girl, tell me one more time to study and I will _lose_ my _mind_."

Hermione scowled at her exasperated friend.

"But the exams are _important_!" she insisted. "If you don't pass, you could get expelled."

"I'm sure that's a myth," Ron said. "I mean, look at Goyle. He's still here, isn't he? I dunno know about you guys, but I don't know how he's passing his classes - if he even is."

"And, I already know it all," Shikamaru added. "I've been studying all year, and I just want to take a nap or something."

"But-!" Hermione started, when Harry interrupted her.

"Hagrid? What are you doing in the library?" he asked curiously. The enormous man in question shuffled awkwardly, hiding a few books behind his back.

"Nothin'," he said. Everyone could see past that blatant lie. "Jus' lookin'. An' what are yeh lot up to? Not still lookin' fer Nicolas Flamel?"

"Eh, we found him weeks ago," Ron said dismissively. "Anyway, are you sure you're alright? You seem...a bit nervous, or something."

' _Tact, thy bane is Ronald Weasley,'_ Shikamaru thought dryly. Hermione appeared to be thinking along the same lines and smacked Ron's arm.

"Way to be subtle," she hissed.

' _That too,'_ the Nara added mentally. Ron scowled.

"What? What's wrong with asking a question? Blimey," he said. Hermione rolled her eyes and shook her head, turning back to her book.

Words like "hopeless" and "no discretion whatsoever" were muttered, causing Ron's scowl to deepen.

Before they could start to argue in earnest, Harry spoke up.

"Hey...guys? Hagrid left," he said nervously, as if fearing a blow up. He apparently had good reason.

"See? You scared him off!" Hermione said, pointing an accusing finger at Ron. The redhead looked incredulous.

"Me? Scare _him_ off? He's like, three times my size!" he exclaimed. "Besides, it isn't like I insulted him or anything."

"Ronald Weasley, you are _impossible_ ," Hermione responded furiously. And then she settled into a sulky silence and refused to look at any of her companions.

"Troublesome," Shikamaru said wearily. He stood up and looked at the books Hagrid had been looking over. What he saw didn't make him feel any better. _'Please don't tell me he…'_ he mentally begged the universe.

"What's that?" Harry asked curiously. Shikamaru looked up with a hint of dread on his face, enough that Ron went silent and Hermione looked up.

"A book on dragons," he sighed. Why did his life _suck_?

…

* * *

A dragon. A mother _fucking_ dragon egg. Irritated didn't even _begin_ to describe what he was feeling. Shikamaru attempted to get his breathing under control. It didn't work.

"Seriously? What the actual-" he cut himself off and took a deep, deep breath (hysterical laughter was bubbling in his throat). "Illegal, dangerous, a _hazard to your health_ ; should I name any other reasons as to why you picking up a random egg from a suspicious stranger was a _terrible idea_?"

"Shikamaru, calm down," Hermione said, looking a tad alarmed.

"I refuse, until he tells us exactly _what the hell he was thinking_!" Shikamaru said explosively. "He could go to jail. He could burn down his house and let an extremely dangerous animal loose on the school grounds. This is one of the worst ideas ever, of all time."

"I wouldn' do that," Hagrid protested weakly. The enormous man shrank away at the genius' glower.

"Oh, really?" Shikamaru asked bitingly. "What was your plan for that thing then? Would you raise it to become completely useless in the wilderness? Were you thinking of keeping it as a pet that would become _bigger than your house_?"

"I-I hadn' thought that far," Hagrid mumbled. Shikamaru put his hands on his face and let out a despairing noise. It was like dealing with Naruto's idiocy all over again! At least Naruto had been a child when he'd been this level of stupid. Shikamaru had forced him to plan at least a _little_ bit over the years, in case the Nara was absent and couldn't do it for him, because he'd flat out _refused_ to deal with that as an adult.

"A-alright, we tell Dumbledore," Hermione said desperately. "He'll know what to do."

"Yes, let's tell the _headmaster_ that his employee is storing a very illegal item in his hut. That's a _fantastic_ idea," Ron said sarcastically. She flushed.

"I don't see you having any better ideas," she said angrily.

"What it would be like to have a normal life," Harry sighed. Shikamaru was in complete agreement. They just couldn't seem to catch a break. "Wait a minute," Harry said slowly. Everyone looked at him, and he looked at Ron. "Charlie," he said.

"I think Hagrid's contagious," Ron said flatly. "I'm _Ron_ , remember?" Harry shook his head.

"No. Your brother, Charlie. Doesn't he work with dragons?" he pressed. Ron frowned.

"Yeah? So?" he asked.

" _So_ , we can owl him and ask if he can take the dragon," Harry suggested. There was complete silence for a minute.

"You're brilliant," Hermione said faintly. She turned to Hagrid. "How about, when the dragon hatches, we send him to Charlie? It'll be better for him in the wilderness anyway, and he'll probably be with his own kind." Hagrid thought about it and reluctantly agreed (though perhaps Shikamaru's foreboding expression at the thought of him refusing helped the process along).

With that out of the way, the quartet started to plan it out. Ron owled Charlie with Hedwig, and the response was a very enthusiastic agreement. Then came the hard part because creature hatched.

Shikamaru had honestly never disliked an animal more than he did the dragon that had decided to attach itself to his arm. With its teeth. Hagrid had been burned, Ron had been scratched, and now _he_ had several teeth sticking _into_ his arm. He _hated_ his life.

The thing leapt away as he let out a burst of killing intent stronger than a full grown dragon's, and it proceeded to squeak (yes, squeak) in terror as he clenched his jaw in an effort to keep his anger at bay. The pain _really_ wasn't helping. Hagrid hid Norbert (the damn thing had a _name_ , and hadn't he told Hagrid to _not_ get attached?) while Hermione wrapped up Shikamaru's arm with shaking hands.

"Y-you should go see Madame Pomfrey," she said. "He might be poisonous."

"And tell her what? A dragon bit him?" Ron asked sourly from where he was nursing his own wound.

"It's fine," Shikamaru muttered. "I'll look up dragon bites later."

Hermione pressed her lips together disapprovingly, but Harry's exclamation of surprise startled them all.

"Malfoy was just here," he said faintly. "He was looking through the window."

Shikamaru bit back a groan; because _of course_ someone saw them. His life could never be simple.

"What d'you think the chances are of him telling someone?" Ron asked dubiously.

"Far too high," Shikamaru said through gritted teeth as pain flared through his arm. "When's Charlie coming?"

"Tomorrow night, it was the soonest he could make it," Ron said. "Will it be enough?"

"It'll have to be," Hermione said tartly. She was pale, but she looked more determined than ever. "I refuse to let this thing be for nothing just because of a prat like Malfoy."

"Right. So, keeping Malfoy quiet and Norbert safe," Harry said. Shikamaru stared at him in disbelief.

 _The attachment was spreading!_

"Who would Malfoy tell?" Hermione asked pensively.

"Snape?" Ron suggested.

"His father?" Harry said.

"So, we keep him from owling anyone," Shikamaru said. "Hypatia can do that for a couple of days."

"She can fight off an eagle owl?" Hermione looked skeptical. The Nara shrugged.

"She's smart. She'll figure out something. Besides, I think she's wanted to knock that thing down a peg for a while now," he said. "I'll also talk to Snape if there is a need for it."

Unfortunately for him, there was a need sooner rather than later.

He went to Potions the next day, feeling worse than ever, and under the uncomfortable impression that his arm was on fire. What he'd read about Norwegian Ridgebacks stated that their venom wasn't deadly, just mildly painful. He was going to find the author who had written the book and would proceed to have a dragon bite _his_ arm - mildly painful his _ass_. His homicidal thoughts were not curbed as the class wore on sluggishly, and as he had to watch Snape sneer at his friends.

In a mixture of coincidence - the unfortunate kind - and plain bad luck, the venom coursing through his body (the book had assured him that the poison would run its course in a week, but medical care was still advised, and he was going to burn the thing for not giving extra warnings) reacted badly with the fumes of the potion they were brewing - which he didn't even know the name of, he was so out of it - so that the pain somehow _amplified_ and caused him enormous mental and physical strain, which is why when Crabbe managed to explode his cauldron, Shikamaru didn't react in time and some of the stuff landed on his body.

The reaction was nearly instant. It dug into his skin with what felt like real claws, met with the dragon poison already in his body, and decided to have the biggest _bitch_ of an offspring (interestingly enough, this had happened exactly once before in the history of the world, though the person wasn't alive any longer, and the substance had been most appropriately named 'Hell Spawn'). The results were hallucinations, _burning_ pain all throughout his body, and him passing out _again_. To be fair, he had at least managed to keep his chakra in check before he did so.

As his vision tunneled and then turned black, Shikamaru heard the panicked shouts of his friends, and had the briefest second to feel remorseful, of all things, that he would probably miss Norbert's (damn it, he was using it too) departure. And then he felt nothing at all except for pain. **(3)**

…

* * *

It was dark. _He_ was dark. And pain. He was just a big bundle of nerves that were being blow torched individually with a high caliber flamethrower.

"Awake, Mister Nara."

Interesting. That sounded like Snape.

"You have been sleeping for two days, and you're taking up room. Get up."

Shikamaru's body reluctantly followed the chain of command and he opened his eyes blearily. Being faced with cold black eyes with a foot of space between himself and them was not the best thing to awake to, and he spasmed in an attempt to jerk away. It didn't work.

The man leaned back and eyed him thoughtfully, to the Nara's relief. He _really_ didn't like people in his personal space. His arm throbbed, but when he looked down, it was nearly bandaged and it looked far better than it had...two days ago.

He cursed in Japanese, causing Snape to lift an eyebrow.

"You are obviously feeling better," the man said sardonically.

"Something like that," Shikamaru muttered. "Where am I?"

"In my quarters."

The Nara was hard pressed not to gape. " _Why_?" he asked instead.

"It was partially due to the actions of one of my students that you ended up in such a severe condition. Either way, while Madam Pomfrey is a suitable medi-witch, she is not equipped to deal with _dragon venom_ ," Snape answered slowly, though Shikamaru felt like he was hiding something - but he really didn't feel like pressing. Ah. So that was why his arm didn't feel like it had magma running through it anymore.

"You have my thanks, I guess," Shikamaru said. "Did anything happen when I was…indisposed?"

"Indeed. Young Miss Granger and Mister Potter, as well as Mister Longbottom and unfortunately, Mister Malfoy were all caught out of their dormitories last night, and house points and detentions have been taken or given accordingly," Snape answered. He hid it well, but Shikamaru could discern a small amount of satisfaction in his voice.

Deciding that he was unequipped to deal with whatever problems the man had with Harry or Gryffindor in general at the moment, he merely nodded.

"About the dragon," he started. Snape gave him a look.

"If you are going to tell me that the bite you received was from a different animal..." the man warned. Shikamaru shook his head.

"No point," he said dryly. "I was just wondering if Madam Pomfrey knew about it." Snape gave him a calculating glance.

"She does not," he said slowly, as if measuring each word. "She believes that you are here because of the rogue potion. Nothing else."

Shikamaru huffed in relief. He hadn't been looking forward to _that_ conversation. Then, a thought occurred to him. "Why didn't you tell her?" he asked.

"It wasn't relevant. Besides, she could not have done more than I did anyway. Now if I may ask _you_ a question." Snape didn't make it sound like a request. "Why would you have the venom of a Norwegian Ridgeback in your body? I saw the bite. It was quite deep."

Shikamaru sighed and leaned back on the couch he was laying on.

"It's a long story," he said.

"I have all night. Please...enlighten me." The Potions Master's eyes glittered.

…

* * *

Severus Snape did not know what to make of his life anymore, and it was all because of that insufferable Potter and his slightly more bearable (but still cheeky!) friend, Shikamaru Nara. The latter was a prodigy in Potions and apparently Occlumency, seeing as he could keep _Severus_ out of his mind. The Potions Master had gone into the year fully prepared to believe that The-Boy-Who-Lived was an arrogant, self-obsessed child with more of his father's traits than his mother's (he may or may not be in the process of being proved wrong).

And then there was Mr. Nara. The boy would have done well in Slytherin, he grudgingly admitted to himself, after being convinced to allow the children to continue on their quest for answers. If he was honest with himself (which wasn't very often), their determination to investigate into matters that weren't their business, while irking, was a _little bit_ impressive. Just a little bit. It didn't stop him from glowering at them every class period though. He had a reputation to uphold, after all.

Somehow, the Nara brat had managed to keep Longbottom from destroying any cauldrons (Severus had seen how many saves the boy had made), which meant that Goyle was officially the worst in his Potions class. Wonderful.

And when the Damaged Child went and _collapsed_ from what everything pointed to as a flashback, Potter and his aggravating Weasley friend had turned to _him_ and demanded that he fix the boy like the impertinent brats they were. As if _he_ knew how to handle their friend's apparently fragile mental state. Still, he didn't want to get any heat from Minerva about letting a student of her's just lay on the ground, so he took the boy to the Hospital Wing (he _levitated_ him, Severus Snape didn't _carry_ anybody).

Things were satisfyingly quiet for some time, and then he overheard the Weasley boy shout at the top of his lungs (and what were they teaching children nowadays about stealth anyway?) the name Nicolas Flamel. Well, that was just suspicious. So, he took them to his office, ready to hear some cock-and-bull about a _school_ assignment, but instead he got a legitimate answer.

The Nara boy could also have gone to Ravenclaw.

Somehow, he found himself _agreeing_ ,of all things, to the argument presented, and smug didn't cut what Genius Child of the Century Over There(for getting Severus Snape to _concur_ with something) looked like when he didn't write the whole lot of them off. Fortunately, in exception to him ordering a few of his snakes to cooperate with minimal (but still some, because Merlin forbid he make those Gryffindors' lives _easy_ ) fuss, he was not interrupted much. And then that Nara child passed out in his class _again_. He hoped this wouldn't be a recurring theme. Severus took him to his quarters to make sure that the potion didn't do any lasting damage…and perhaps because he was curious. As a former spy, he liked his information, and Mr. Nara was one mysterious child.

The boy awoke and seemed to get a hold of the situation quickly, for he didn't ask any inane questions like 'What happened?' or 'What's going on?'. Instead, he asked where he was and what had occurred during his recovery period. Perfectly reasonable. Again, Severus found himself approving, albeit grudgingly. But, he couldn't let the boy know this, so he retained his dark and distant manner to keep the genius (because he was sure that the boy was, in fact, a legitimate genius) off of his trail.

He decided to ask where in the seven circles of hell (or was it nine? He could never be sure, and he knew that he'd heard it both ways, probably) the child had gotten a _dragon bite._ A severe one too. The Nara brat gave him a speculative look, as if contemplating his worth, and then seemed to decide that lying was useless, for he told his professor to settle down for a long story.

It ended up not actually being that long.

By the end of it, Severus was somewhere between exasperated (because of course that oaf Hagrid had picked up a _dragon_ _egg_ , of all things) and, dare he think it, _amused_. The boy in front of him also would have done well in Hufflepuff for all the things he did for his friends - Severus knew he'd had something to do with that atrocious prank pulled before the holidays. He, of course, didn't let this show, and instead remained blank-faced. He relayed to the Gryffindor in front of him that could honestly have gone to _any other_ house precisely how his friends were caught (forgetting the invisibility cloak...no words needed) and nearly smirked when the Nara shook his head and muttered, "Troublesome idiots, who forgets the _stealth_ in a _secretive_ operation?" Then, the boy gathered himself and asked, "So, it's Sunday, right? Which means that they probably haven't had their punishment yet since it's most likely going to be a week of detentions, or something," the Japanese boy mused.

"Yes. Your...friends also managed to lose one-hundred and fifty points from Gryffindor house, at fifty points per person," Severus said, savoring the words. The boy looked at him in faint disbelief.

"What? That shouldn't be possible," he said blankly. "Ron shouldn't have been there because previous... _events_ have proven that his stealth capabilities aren't very... stealthy. Even though they got caught, it should only have been one hundred." He appeared to have forgotten about Longbottom, then. Ah, well, Severus would enjoy reminding him. **(4)**

"That would be true," the Slytherin Head agreed, "if they had been the only ones out that night. Remember, young Mister Longbottom somehow got caught up in the mix. So did Mister Malfoy, unfortunately." The boy sighed.

"And how is the house taking this setback?" he asked. Severus sneered.

"I don't keep up with other houses, Mister Nara," he said. The child gave him a look. "But...I suppose that rumors of dissent and reasonable anger towards a certain trio of first years have circulated enough for me to...overhear them."

Instantly, the Nara's eyes hardened, and while his tone was still casual, it had a grain of steel in it. Severus found himself reluctantly impressed. The boy would have been intimidating to any other person of the Hogwarts age range.

"And I suppose that every house bar Slytherin is participating in this dissatisfaction?" the boy asked in a dangerously calm manner.

"Of course. It is probably a good thing that Gryffindors are not noted for their loyalty. It would be seen as false advertising, in this case," Severus drawled. The boy stood up and - surprisingly - seemed quite steady when doing so.

"Thanks for the help, Professor," he said a little stiffly. He turned around to start walking away.

"And where are you going?" Severus asked. "Off to comfort your friends?"

He heard the boy scoff quietly.

"No, Professor. I'm going to go _talk_ to the idiots that apparently reside in my house. Confrontation is a more... Gryffindor thing to do, isn't it? It's probably for the best that I'm not in Hufflepuff," the child said mildly.

And in that moment, Severus Snape admitted that perhaps the Sorting Hat had done its job and - Merlin forbid - That Genius Child truly belonged in Gryffindor. Funny. The thought didn't have the same amount of bitterness as usual. Something was wrong with him, perhaps a contaminant in the air.

Yes. That's what it must have been.

…

* * *

The Gryffindor Common Room was calm for all of two days. A week was long enough for Shikamaru to assess the treatment his friends were getting, and for him to get thoroughly sick of it. So, after seeing Neville's downtrodden face, Hermione's despair, Harry's sudden introverted behavior, and Ron's complete lack of enthusiasm for anything, and the rest of Gryffindor House's sneers of derision - even the twins were colder than before, the twins! - Shikamaru had finally had enough.

Randomly, in the middle of a free period when most of the house was studying or interacting quietly together - ignoring the subdued trio of first years in the corner - he said, "I wonder when Gryffindor lost all reason."

He didn't even bother to keep his voice down, if anything, it was said quite loudly. The room went quiet. Confusion emanated from the majority of the occupants, while Hermione and Neville shot him looks of horror and terror, respectively. All of this, he ignored and continued.

"Honestly, though, when did this house become troublesome enough to _shun_ a few first years for messing up a little bit?" he continued lazily. Contrary to his loose posture and mild tone, his killing intent was steadily rising, and his nonchalance was suddenly much more _dangerous_. "I didn't sign up to be in a house that _abandons_ its own."

There was a bit of a shocked silence to this as well.

"Isn't Gryffindor supposed to be all about bravery and boldness? Where did _that_ go? All _I_ see is a group of people that care more about worthless house points - a good deal of which, by the way, are made by one of said scorned people - than inter-house unity." He let them stew over that for a second.

"When was it, exactly, that Gryffindor decided to make its founder roll over in his grave by letting some Slytherins make fun of and generally be condescending towards some of their housemates? I guess, next year, we'll just have to explain to the Gryffindor hopefuls that we aren't Lions as much as _rats_ , turning tail and leaving our own at the first sign of something wrong - we'll have to develop some new characteristics. I, for one, know that the Slytherins have some ground rules. The first of which is to always stick together, no matter what. When did Gryffindor become so low that we have lower moral standings than _Slytherin_? A house known for _self-preservation_."

"Now, listen here," someone - clearly braver and yet so much _stupider_ than the rest because he was now one step closer to signing his own death warrant- said indignantly. His protest was cut off when Shikamaru's hard brown eyes snapped to him and seemed to bore into his soul.

"No," Shikamaru said lowly, " _you_ listen, you complete and utter _moron_. And I'm talking about everyone in this house that isn't sitting at this table." Everyone seemed to hold a collective breath as he gathered his thoughts - and possibly his temper.

"People make mistakes. This is generally known, or it should be. So, how is it that when Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Neville Longbottom make a mistake that gets rid of a few house points, this thing called _humanity_ is seen as unacceptable?" Shikamaru asked, letting his half-lidded eyes rove around the room. "Perhaps, it is because that the Golden Boy himself messed up that makes it so unforgivable. After all, The-Boy-Who-Lived can't be held to the same standards as us mortals, even if he _is_ eleven years old."

This caused a few people to flinch guiltily.

"Or, Miss Granger. She's smart, smart enough to not get caught...except this once. But, instead of congratulating her for her bravery in helping her friend, all she gets is _disgust_. I wonder…had it been those Weasley twins, if the reaction would have been the same?" Shikamaru had officially created a new dimension with the flatness of his tone.

"What about Mister Longbottom? The boy who was just trying to do the right thing out of concern for his friends because some Slytherin fed him a story? He should gain the disapproval of his entire house for being brave for once, even though that's what Gryffindor is known for, bravery. Apparently, it's also known for the amount of monumental _idiocy_ as well."

No was meeting his gaze anymore, which was probably a good thing, all things considered.

"And then, there are there other houses. They have _joined in_ on this...exclusion; all because they can't seem to earn enough points themselves. And Gryffindor is letting them," he mused. "But, Gryffindors aren't known for sticking together or loyalty, so maybe this isn't so much of a surprise. Still, its competitive nature clearly has some downsides if it's allowing the other three houses to look down on a few of their own that generally get sneered at for not being Gryffindor-ish enough."

Shikamaru sighed. He shook his head.

"Either way, I've had enough. When all of you feel like acting reasonable again, start by apologizing to the three people who have been dealing with cruelty like this for the majority of their lives," he said. Then, he stood up and walked out without a backwards glance.

Almost no one got sleep that night.

…

* * *

"Shikamaru."

The boy didn't turn around from his perusal of a particularly stealthy book. Harry frowned slightly.

"What, Harry?" the Nara asked after a few minutes of silence.

"Nothing...just...wanted to thank you, I guess. Some people apologized to us after what you said yesterday. The twins even told off a group of Ravenclaws for glaring at us," he said.

"I didn't do anything except stop what shouldn't have been happening anyway," Shikamaru said steadily.

"Still...thanks. I know that Neville and Hermione are feeling better now," Harry persisted. Shikamaru turned to face him, and Harry was struck by how old the Nara seemed. How weary.

"And how do you feel?" the Nara asked. Harry shrugged self consciously.

"Mostly glad that it's over, I guess. It's a relief for this to end," he said. Shikamaru 'hmmed' and turned back to the shelves of books.

"I was just doing what I should have done for another person a long time ago. Besides," there was a smirked cracked here, "I can't allow Gryffindor to act so troublesome for an extended period of time. Since the teachers are busy, _someone_ has to keep them honest."

Harry grinned.

"I know a few seventh years that you scared yesterday. They didn't think you were so cute or ickle anymore," he said. Shikamaru's smirk grew.

"Of course. That's your job," he agreed. Harry spluttered, but his amusement shone in his green eyes. The more light-hearted manner continued for another couple of weeks, and then the trio that had been caught was given notice about their punishment detention.

Right. Truthfully, it had been all but forgotten, which is why it was a nasty surprise when the letter alerting the three about their future nightly excursion in the Forbidden Forest was delivered.

"We have to do it with Malfoy?" Hermione asked in disbelief. "What are they thinking?"

"Probably something about keeping night time visits to the forest at a minimum," Shikamaru said dryly, reclining in his chair. Hermione shot him a disapproving look, but didn't say anything.

"But why in the forest?" Harry lamented. "I'd rather...I dunno, clean some trophies or something."

"It probably correlates with being out after curfew. I'm sure that if you'd defaced something than it would be cleaning," Neville said thoughtfully. He had taken to joining them after they had told him that during the Dragon Debacle - as they had started calling it - he wasn't supposed to have been there, and that it was Malfoy a git for telling him such stories.

"Great," Harry sighed. "I'll keep that in mind the next time we decide to get caught."

"This wouldn't have happened if you had put on the invisibility cloak," Shikamaru reminded him. Ron shook his head.

"I can't _believe_ you just left it on the tower like that," he said. "And I thought _my_ stealth was bad…"

"That's because _your_ stealth doesn't _exist_ , Ronald Weasley," Hermione snapped. Ron huffed, but surprisingly, didn't say anything back.

Shikamaru wondered hopefully if he was learning the value of silence. Then, the redhead brightened and opened his mouth, causing the Nara to sigh.

Or not.

…

* * *

"A centaur." Reaching that unidentified plane of existence again.

"Yup. Pretty wild, huh?"

"Wild." The flatness was just a little unnerving. Just a little.

"Oh, don't forget to tell him about that unicorn you ran into."

"What."

"I think you've broken him, mate."

"Shut up, Ron."

"Yes sir. Yeesh."

Harry snickered and Hermione giggled. Neville looked somewhere between lost and confused, but he smiled gamely all the same. Ron pouted and Shikamaru thumped his head down on the table in front of him. Repeatedly.

"Stop, you'll lose brain cells," Ron said cheekily.

"At least I have some to lose," he said with a voice muffled by the wood. Ron scowled petulantly. "So, go on, tell me about your disastrous detention in the forest."

"Well, I paired up with Malfoy to look for a unicorn - a dead or wounded one," Harry said, growing serious. "And we found it alright. Someone was drinking its blood."

"Drinking its blood? Like a vampire?" Shikamaru asked with a slight frown. Harry shook his head.

"No, I'm sure it was a human. But Firenze - the centaur who saved me from death by a creepy blood sucker - said something about only Voldemort - sorry, You-Know-Who - being desperate enough to drink the blood of a dead unicorn, which apparently means having a cursed life," he explained. Hermione gasped and Neville paled. Shikamaru's frown became more pronounced.

"Voldemort. As in, the Dark Wizard that you were supposed to have defeated as a baby?" he said a bit incredulously. Harry nodded morosely.

"It wouldn't surprise me if he came back as a ghost and possessed Quirrell or something. There's probably some dark magic out there that could make him do that, right?" he asked wearily. Shikamaru sat back in his chair. That taught him to discount things, and he thought he'd gotten the 'anything can happen' memo with Kaguya and Madara.

"Do you think Professor Snape knows?" Hermione asked timidly. The Nara frowned. That was a good question. How much did Snape actually know? The man hadn't volunteered the information, though to be fair, no one had asked.

"Possessing Professor Quirrell?" Neville blurted out. "Is that why we were researching him? Is he evil?"

The other four exchanged glances.

"We can't tell you everything," Harry said slowly.

"On account of Snape skinning us alive," Ron added dryly.

"But," Harry continued, shooting his friend a look, "we _can_ warn you to be careful around him. Something is...off about him, and I-we don't want people to get hurt because we're investigating."

Neville stared at their solemn faces and nodded slowly.

"Okay…" he said. "I'll be careful."

"Great, but what do we do about Quirrell?" Ron asked. "We can't really just go confront him."

"If we tell Professor Snape, surely he'll do something about it?" Hermione asked.

"He'll also make sure we stay put. I want to _do_ something. Like...I don't know, something to stop him," Ron protested.

"Us against a Professor and potentially the Dark Lord who killed hundreds? I love those odds," Shikamaru said sarcastically. "We don't have to fight. We probably _should_ try to keep from fighting him by ourselves. Let the Professors handle it, they're more equipped."

Ron scowled.

"I don't like that," he said, " _but_ , I can see where you're going."

"Either way, I don't think he'll make a move until our finals are over," Shikamaru said pensively. Harry furrowed his eyebrows.

"How d'you figure?" he asked.

"Everyone's all tense at the moment. If he makes a wrong move now, there will be people all over him. But, after finals is when people relax, when their _vulnerable._ Thus, the best time is to wait when everyone's guards are down. It's what I'd do," the Nara explained. "It isn't definitive, but I'm pretty sure."

"So...what are you guys going to do?" Neville asked quietly. Shikamaru let out a wry smirk.

"I'll let you know as soon as I figure that out myself," he said wearily.

* * *

 **Charms/Curses (Spells):**

 **Leg-Locker Curse(Locomotor Mortis): Curse that is used to bind the legs of the target together.**

* * *

 **Ninjutsu (Techniques):**

 **Henge no Jutsu (Transformation Technique):** **Can change the user into other people, objects, plants, or animals. E-rank, hand seals are Dog – Boar – Ram, in that order**

* * *

 **(1): Probably not true, but whatever. I couldn't find the actual number, if there is one. Any other things regarding muggle money vs wizard money probably isn't true.**

 **(2): Don't fuck around with Shikamaru or his friends. Ever. He will DESTROY you.**

 **(3): Hm. About this. I really just needed him to not be present during that whole 'sending Norbert off thing', so yeah. But it does have some good results, no?**

 **(4): To keep this realistic, Snape won't be doing a complete one-eighty in character, so he will therefore generally despise Gryffindor and will take a while to stop doing so. Shikamaru will just...eventually, become something of an exception. Don't go thinking that Snape is going to be Gryffindor or Harry Potter gung-ho (something like enthusiast) all of the sudden, for you will be sorely mistaken.**

* * *

 **Guest Reviews (Bottom to Top):**

 **Guest** **: I'm very glad you like it! I'm also glad that you see my point in keeping Shikamaru by himself, and without other Naruto characters. Yeah, I don't know about the shadow thing, I might have been having a brain cramp or something, because now I don't know what I'm going to do about it. Oh, well, I'll think of something. And yessiree, Shikamaru is changing things and will continue to befuddle and generally mess with all sorts of people, including Snape. He will get out of the orphanage eventually, don't worry, it will just take another book or two. And Dumbledore. Shikamaru won't have complete trust in him, he's too paranoid for that, but he will respect him – mostly (not so much for raising Harry to believe that near-death experiences are 'brave'). Thanks so, so much for the lovely review!**

* * *

 **A/N: Welp, this is early, and rushed, and I'm tired. I won't have time for anything tomorrow, so, voila! Early chapter! It's shorter, but still important. Besides, it sets up for the most important chapter for next week (possibly the last one for book 1 too). Thanks for the support and love, and wow, five hundred follows? Dang. Hope you enjoyed the Snape PoV, please leave a review!**

* * *

 **RECOMMENDATIONS: (Tell me if you like them and if you have any of your own)**

 **A Right Hufflepuff – opalish: (HP) A pretty nice one shot in Ron's PoV concerning his best mate. Friendship and bromanship ahead! Rated K for fluff and warm fuzzies.**

 **The Birds and the Bees – Yokomi: (Naruto) Another one shot with chibi Kakashi and his wonderfully adorableness, and Minato in all of his clueless glory. It's pretty damn funny, and sweet enough to give you cavities, so prepare that dental appointment. Rated K+ for talking about…things, and hilarious fluff.**


	10. Chapter 10: Quirrellmort

_**Summary:**_ **Motivated, miffed, and magical, Shikamaru Nara was a force to behold. Whoever had placed him here was going to get it, but first he'd have to get through a school for magic. And he'd thought ninjas could be stupid. Troublesome.**

 _ **Rating:**_ **T, and should stay that way.**

 _ **Genres:**_ **Friendship, Adventure, Hurt/Comfort, maybe more, I don't know yet.**

 _ **Warnings:**_ **Language, SPOILERS FOR NARUTO AND HARRY POTTER, violence, some angst, first kills,** **warnings are individual per chapter, might change next chapter or might not** **. No slash or yaoi, yuri, Shounen Ai, or Shōjo Ai. Or incest…just…no.**

 _ **Pairings:**_ **As far as romance goes, it's canon for both series. Friendship!Shikamaru/Harry &Ron&Hermione&Neville&Fred&George. Mentorship(maybe)!Snape/Snape. I might add more later, if I think of it.**

* * *

"Speech"

' _Thoughts'_

 _Emphasis on words_

 **Times**

 **(#) A/N at end to explain stuff**

Regular text

* * *

 **A Shadow in Wizard's Robes Chapter 10: Quirrellmort and Other Problems**

 **By: AngelicSilverWolf**

 _'First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win." - Mahatma Ghandi_

* * *

Everything had gone wrong. The question was: _how_?

Shikamaru eyed Harry as Quirrell smirked evilly. The green-eyed boy was too close to Quirrell, only a few feet away, to pull anything unexpected off. The Nara didn't want Harry hurt because of Quirrell's reflexes, even if _he_ was the one in the man's grip.

"Well?" the professor demanded. He tightened his hold on the Nara's throat. "Your friend's life for the stone. It's an easy enough trade."

"Don't even think about it, Harry," Shikamaru said, just to give himself time to think (because there was no way in hell he was dying here, he'd pull out Ninjutsu if he had to) and to not be irrational (but Ron was unconscious in the chess room, Hermione was hopefully safe watching over him, and _where the hell was Neville with Snape_?) "My life isn't worth Voldemort returning."

Harry hesitated, looking agonized.

"Just one look in the mirror, boy," Quirrell prodded impatiently. Harry seemed to make up his mind, for he turned and started for the mirror. Shikamaru swore and made his decision.

He took hold of one of the kunai from his holster, ignored Quirrell's derisive laugh, and threw it at the mirror. It hit dead center, and the mirror cracked and then shattered. Shikamaru knew of wizarding hubris, so it had become apparent to him that, while the mirror was guarded against all sorts of _magical_ dangers, the creators wouldn't have even _thought_ to protect it against things _muggles_ might use. Like, say, a knife.

Quirrell howled in disbelief and fury and brought his wand up to Shikamaru's head. Harry - who had whirled around at the throwing of the weapon - shouted in horror.

"Shikamaru!"

…

* * *

 **Seven days (168 hours) previous:**

"Ugh. _Finals_." Ron stretched across the table and moaned, ironing his head into the wood.

"Don't even start," Hermione snapped. "I _told_ you to start studying. But did you listen to me? _No_ , Ronald Weasley does whatever he bloody well wants to, never mind what other people say that, Morgana forbid, might actually be _useful_."

Ron scowled and turned his head away.

"Real mature," she said snidely.

"I'm trying to study," Shikamaru interjected mildly. "Do you mind?" Hermione seemed to swell up at this, and Harry snickered.

"Sorry," he said as she turned to him with a betrayed look on her face. "It's just funny to see him mess with other people."

"As glad as I am to be a source of amusement," Hermione said icily, "we should focus on studying. _I_ don't want to fail."

"Relax," Ron said dismissively. "You're fine, probably."

"We've got our Herbology exam tomorrow and then Charms. Astrology is on Wednesday, and then Transfiguration and Potions. Then-" Hermione was cut off as Ron yawned loudly.

"We know the order of our exams," he said when she frowned at him.

"Alright, you two," Shikamaru cut in, "stop. You're disturbing Neville."

The latter had been dozing on top of his Transfiguration book, but the raising voices caused him to wake up.

"Did I miss anything?" he asked, scrubbing his face.

"Just Ron and Hermione arguing," Harry said with a shrug. Neville grinned.

"I said, 'Did I _miss_ anything', that isn't really worth mentioning since it happens all the time," he said. Harry laughed and the other two huffed. Shikamaru shook his head.

"We're corrupting him," he said mournfully.

"There is no 'we' there, my friend," Hermione said. "That's all you."

"Ron probably doesn't help," Harry agreed.

"What is this?" Ron asked, scowling petulantly. "'Pick on Ron' Day?" The others just looked at him innocently.

"What are you talking about? That's every day," Neville said cheekily. "Didn't you know?"

Amid the snickers, Shikamaru tipped his chair back and mused that it would be nice for the peace to last. Too bad he knew it wouldn't.

Exams passed fairly quickly.

Despite Hermione's insistence that lack of studying would bite him in the rear, Shikamaru did very well on all of them, coming in second in their year in overall testing scores, and this was only because he honestly hadn't cared about History of Magic or Defense Against the Dark Arts. It was just after their last test that they got together in the library to give their individual reports on Quirrell.

"I heard a few Ravens talking about how he seemed jumpier than normal today," Harry volunteered, slouching in his chair. "They said he kept muttering to himself."

"Yeah, during our test he was all pale and stuff. Kept dropping what he was holding," Ron agreed. The redhead looked weary from the tests, but relieved at the same time. "Think he's nervous?"

"I would be," Hermione said fervently. "Stealing something from Hogwarts is a daunting task at best." She tapped her foot thoughtfully. "I wonder, if You-Know-Who is possessing Professor Quirrell, if he'll just...take over to steal the stone. Somehow, I think that Professor has been himself all year, and I can't really picture a dark lord stuttering all the time."

"That's a good point," Shikamaru acknowledged. "We'll just have to be really careful. If that _does_ happen, then we're _probably_ dead if he finds out that we're investigating him."

"Think we should tell Headmaster Dumbledore yet?" Harry asked.

"We don't know when he's going to strike," Ron said reasonably. "Not much point in telling him to be careful when he's already got a defense system in place."

"We need a definitive answer," Shikamaru said with a frown. "I'll see what I can do." Maybe the house-elves could help.

They didn't have to wait very long.

…

* * *

 **12 hours left, tick tock, tick tock...**

Shikamaru was walking with the other three, when there was a small _pop_ , and a slip of paper appeared in front of his face.

 _Tomorrow._

It burst into flames as soon as he read it. He recognized the writing as the thin chicken-scratch of one of the house-elves from the kitchens. He frowned and turned to the others, who were looking at the spot where the paper had appeared in shock.

"It's tonight," he said. They started and shifted their gazes to him. "It's happening tonight. Quirrell will probably do it after curfew."

"How'd you know? And what was with that paper?" Ron asked.

"That isn't important right now," Shikamaru said quickly. It had been surprisingly easy to get the house-elves to spy on Quirrell. They hadn't liked the feel of him either, and when Shikamaru had explained the potential danger to Hogwarts's occupants and integrity, they had become determined to aid however they could. But he didn't want anyone to know of their part in everything yet, just in case.

"Right, so we just tell Professor Dumbledore," Hermione said. They set out to do just that, only-

"What do you mean, 'he's not here'?" Harry asked, panic lacing his voice. McGonagall raised an eyebrow.

"He has a meeting with the Minister of Magic, Mister Potter," she said. "He will most likely be gone until tomorrow."

Shikamaru ran through a number of curses in his mind. Of all the times to be gone…

Harry seemed to be of the same mind, for he scowled furiously.

"Whatever it is can wait, I assure you," Professor McGonagall said sternly.

"Look-!" Ron's frantic plea was interrupted by a familiar stuttering voice.

"Is t-there a p-problem, M-Minerva?" Quirrell himself walked up, looking pleased about something, though he tried to hide it.

"Not at all, Quinirius," Professor McGonagall said. "I was just telling some students of mine to relax. Exams are over, after all."

"Of c-course," Quirrell agreed. "W-wouldn't want them t-to overwork themselves, a-after all."

Shikamaru narrowed his eyes at the man and grabbed the arms of his companions.

"Come on," he muttered. "We need help."

And they did try. For the rest of the day, they tried to contact Professor Snape, but wherever they went, Quirrell, or Peeves or Filch seemed to pop up. The one time they managed to get to the dungeons, they were shooed away by a very irate group of Slytherin seventh years. It was like the universe was conspiring against them, or something (no owls were sent in case Quirrell had thought of that too, and they didn't separate on the agreed idea that being caught alone by a possibly suspecting Professor Quirrell would be a very bad thing, safety in numbers and all that).

"It's no good," Ron said eventually. "We'll have to go it alone."

"That's no good," Hermione said crossly. "We'll be killed if it really _is_ You-Know-Who."

"We have a day," Harry said reasonably. "I'm sure we can figure something out before then."

Only, they didn't.

Shikamaru was in the first year boy's room, on his bed, when a frantic elf popped into it, right next to him. It squeaked at the wand he pulled out, but focused on him.

"You is needing to go, sir!" it said urgently. Fortunately, no one could hear because of his silencing spells.

"What do you mean?" Shikamaru asked in confusion.

"The Bad Man changes his plans! You just hurry! He is already being down there!" it said, tugging on its ears nervously. The Nara swore. It was already almost midnight.

"Alright," he said. "Thanks. Go find Professor McGonagall and tell her what's happening."

The elf shook its head.

"Miffy can't, sir. The Bad Man orders the house elves to stay away from the other Professors tonight. We can't disobey such a command from a Professor," it said mournfully. Shikamaru growled as he wrenched aside his bed sheets and threw on clothes.

"Fine. Wake Hermione up, and keep Peeves and Filch away from us. I'll deal with Quirrell," he said through gritted teeth (because he couldn't do it alone, no matter how old he was supposed to be). The elf bobbed its head and disappeared. He strode over to Harry and Ron and shook them awake.

"Get up," he said. " _Now_."

They both jumped up at his commanding voice.

"Shikamaru? What's-" Ron was cut off as the Nara started speaking.

"Quirrell's moving early. He's down there now. Grab anything that might be useful and meet me in the Common Room," Shikamaru said briefly.

He left them scrambling for clothes and marched into the Common Room. There he paced furiously, mind working overtime. Why would Quirrell move early? What could possibly-

Dumbledore.

He would be gone tonight. Which meant that protection was at an all time low.

 _Shit!_

"Shikamaru?" Hermione's sleepy but still alert voice forced his mind away from his whirling thoughts of _they were incredibly screwed._ "Something woke me up and there was note to come meet you…?"

He nodded curtly.

"Quirrell's moving early. I think it's because Dumbledore isn't here," he said. She gasped and Ron - who had entered the room in time to hear that tidbit - cursed.

"What are we going to do?" she asked faintly. Shikamaru raised an eyebrow.

"Go after him," he said. She paled visibly, but waited for him to explain. "We don't have time to grab a Professor and explain. He could already have the stone. Which means that we need to get there as quickly as possible-"

"What are you guys doing up?" Neville asked, yawning. "I heard noise."

Shikamaru stopped. He eyed the other boy thoughtfully.

"Go back to sleep," Ron said roughly. Shikamaru raised a hand.

"No," he said. "He can help." He ignored Ron's gaping expression and gave the Longbottom a serious look that caused him to straighten instinctively.

"Neville, I need you to do something that you're _really_ not going to want to do," he said. Neville gulped.

"This is about the thing with Professor Quirrell, isn't it?" he asked. Shikamaru nodded. "Then - then I'll do it."

Shikamaru smirked in spite of his apprehension.

…

* * *

 **45 minutes...ready - set** _ **go**_ **...**

"I can't believe you sent him to get Snape," Ron whispered as they crept along in the castle. Shikamaru was under several stealth charms, and the other three were under Harry's newly regained (by about a week) invisibility cloak.

"So you've said. Now shush," Shikamaru said, casting his eyes in all directions. So far, the house-elf seemed to be doing its job, because they hadn't run into anyone. They reached the forbidden corridor in record time, and squeezed into the room with the three-headed dog with utmost care. Oddly enough, there was a harp playing softly **(1)** , but since it seemed to be keeping the dog asleep, no one complained. Unfortunately, this only proved that someone had been there before them.

They dropped through the trapdoor one by one - and were met with an enormous amount of a thick, cord-like, substance, which proceeded to try to strangle the life out of them. Shikamaru swore and jumped away and towards the wall.

"It's Devil's Snare!" Hermione cried, kicking away a piece of plant that tried to circle around her legs. "It must be Professor Sprout's contribution."

"Well, now that we know what it is, maybe we could, I don't know, _get rid of it_?" Ron snarled, fighting a tendril away from his chest. Harry was struggling to breathe through a small one tightening around his throat, and Shikamaru sliced through another that had attached itself to his leg with a kunai.

"They like the cold and dark," Hermione said, obviously thinking furiously.

"So light a fire," Harry choked.

"But we don't have any wood!" Hermione wailed, wringing her hands.

"HAVE YOU GONE MAD?" Ron bellowed. "ARE YOU A WITCH OR NOT?" Hermione flushed and pulled out her wand. She muttered a spell and blue flames shot out of her wand. The plant was quick in retreating afterwards, flailing and writhing in an attempt to escape.

"Lucky Hermione knew that spell," Harry said, rubbing his neck.

"Lucky _you_ suggested the fire bit. No wood...honestly," Ron said, shaking his head. The four of them ventured onwards, silent in their thoughts. The sound of fluttering wings soon reached their ears as they continued down the passageway, causing them to pause.

"D'you hear that?" Ron whispered.

"Maybe it's a ghost?" Hermione suggested, also whispering. Shikamaru shook his head.

"Sounds...metallic, almost."

They inched into a brilliant lit chamber with hundreds of what looked like extremely shinny birds at first, but upon taking a closer look-

"Keys!" Harry said. "They're keys."

"Let's try the door, I don't fancy getting attacked by large metal objects with wings," Hermione suggested with a shudder. They tried the door, which was locked, and attempted to use a spell to unlock it.

"Worth a try," Hermione sighed, turning to the keys.

"Brooms," Harry noted, pointing. And indeed, there were three brooms sitting innocently on the floor.

"We'll probably get attacked as soon as we touch them, won't we?" Ron said in a resigned tone.

"Yeah," Shikamaru said with a nod. "Well, have fun. I'll stay in the ground to try and do damage control." The others gave him looks. "What? I'm no good on a broom. I'll use a Freezing Charm to make them stay in place."

"What if Professor Flitwick has done something to protect them?" Hermione asked, crossing her arms.

"I'll think of something. Go, we're losing time," Shikamaru said, pulling his wand out to start freezing the keys in place. "Try to find a big one that looks fairly old." The others sighed and mounted a broom each.

Several frantic, scratch filled minutes later, the key was through the lock and they were in the next room with...an unconscious troll.

"Glad we didn't have to fight that one," Hermione whispered fervently, absently rubbing where a key had scratched her nose.

"Come on, I can't breathe," Ron said through a handful of his robes. They scurried to the next room, which had a floor of black and white tiles, and was filled with large stone structures. A chess board, then. "We'll have to play our way across," Ron said, echoing Shikamaru's thoughts.

"You take the lead on this," Shikamaru said, studying the board with a critical eye.

"Are you sure?" the Weasley asked doubtfully.

"Hn. I'm more familiar with shōgi, and while they're similar, they do have a few key differences regarding strategy," the Nara said. "And Hermione and Harry aren't as skilled in strategy games like this." Ron nodded.

"Alright then," he agreed. "You take the place of that Rook. Hermione, go in for that castle, and Harry, you that Bishop." The three quickly moved, taking place of the pieces that seemed to hear Ron's commands, for they moved out of the way.

"What about you?" Harry asked. Ron grinned tightly.

"I'll be a knight."

And then the game started. It wasn't particularly slow, but the anticipation made every turn feel like an eternity. The first shock came from the loss of the first knight. Shikamaru stared in morbid fascination as the white queen dragged their knight off the board.

"Had to let that happen," Ron said shakily. "That leaves you free to take that Bishop, Hermione, go ahead."

It was a merciless game, and while they lost a good deal of pieces, Ron himself seemed to take out just as many of the enemy. Then, they came to a bit of a standstill.

"Let me think…" Ron said, biting his lip as he thought furiously. Shikamaru would have been impressed with his strategical prowesses had he not been distracted by the white queen turning to face his friend. "Yes... it's the only way," the redhead said softly. Hermione and Harry protested loudly, but Shikamaru stayed in a grim silence. It was an unfortunate necessity, and both of the strategists knew it.

"That's chess!" Ron snapped. "You have to make some sacrifices. I'll let her take me, and that will leave you to take the king, Harry."

"But-"

"Do you want to stop Quirrell or not?" Ron demanded. This stopped the others' protests. "Once I'm down, Harry, take out the king. That should let you go to the other room. Don't look back and don't stop, I'll be fine." And another without word, he stepped forward.

The white queen brought her arm down on his head, and he collapsed. Hermione screamed, but she didn't move. Harry moved and put the king in checkmate, determined and pale. As soon as the king threw down his crown, all three of them ran towards Ron. Shikamaru checked his pulse. Still there.

"He's alive," he said curtly, "but he probably has a concussion or something. He'll be okay for now."

The other two sighed in relief.

"Right, let's go then," Hermione said, sniffing a little. With one last glance at their unconscious friend, they marched through the door at the other end of the room. In the next room was a long table with a number of bottles sitting on it. As soon as they stepped closer to the table, fire sprang up in front of and behind them.

They exchanged looks. Harry picked up a piece of paper lying on the table next to the bottles and read it through, before handing it to Hermione with a lost expression on his face.

"It's a puzzle," she said in relief. "Many wizards don't have an ounce of logic and would be stuck here forever. _Brilliant_."

"And we won't?" Harry questioned uncertainly. She smiled.

"Of course not. Just give me minute," she said. Shikamaru inspected the paper over her shoulder. It was reasonably challenging, and he commended Snape mentally for coming up with it. It should have made sense to have expected a man who was the head of Slytherin and who complained about incompetents on a daily basis to create an obstacle based on _logic_ of all things. While he was musing to himself, Hermione seemed to figure it out, for she suddenly clapped her hands and squealed, "I've got it!"

She proceeded confidently. "The smallest is the one that will enable a forward motion, and the round one will get a person back." Shikamaru looked at the smallest bottle critically, there was barely enough for one person there, let alone three. However...the fact that there was some in there, even after Quirrell had come through, meant that there was most likely a refilling spell in place. Still...no need to endanger lives needlessly.

"Alright, here's what we'll do," he said. The other two looked at him. "One of us needs to go back and try to owl Dumbledore and look after Ron, I vote Hermione." The girl started to protest, but he raised his hand. "Let me finish. I want you to do it because, if you happen to get caught by a teacher, you are the one they are most likely to believe if you tell them about this. Besides, I can handle myself, and Harry is already a target. There's no use in all three of us going.

'Harry, I've deducted that the small bottle probably has a refilling charm on it or something. So, I'll go first to make the way safe in case there's more traps, and you can follow when the bottle refills."

Harry didn't looked pleased at this idea, but seemed to understand that Shikamaru wouldn't take 'no' for an answer. He gestured for Hermione to go first. She did so hesitantly and drank from the bottle. She shuddered.

"Is it okay?" Harry asked anxiously. She nodded.

"It just - it feels like ice," she said. She gave them each a quick hug, and vanished through the fire with what sounded suspiciously like a sniff. Shikamaru was a bit relieved that she hadn't cried in front of them, he wasn't much good at comforting people; Halloween had been a rare case of him being distracted and apologetic enough to not feel too awkward. He nodded once at Harry and took his own bottle at the return gesture.

Hermione had been right, it _was_ like ice creeping through his veins, but he wasted no time in stepping through the flames. No burning sensation, just a faint tickling one, so everything seemed to be in order. He waited, and not five minutes later, Harry appeared, looking faintly disheveled.

"That was an experience," the other boy said dryly. Shikamaru nodded. He'd done many things in both of his lives, but walking through fire had somehow never made the list. They turned and faced the next chamber. The Nara sighed.

"I really hate it when I'm right," he said.

Quirrell looked back at them with a cold disinterest, nothing like the stuttering mess of a man he had previously portrayed.

"I see," he said. "So you _did_ suspect me."

"Yeah. For over half the year," Harry answered flatly.

"Interesting. I would have thought Severus would be a more suspicious person, what with his constant hovering and uncanny similarities to an overgrown bat. But, either way, I am here, and you can't stop me. So, be good children and stay silent. I'll make your deaths quick," Quirrell said dismissively. He shot ropes out of his wand that bound the two tightly.

When he turned around, Shikamaru pulled out a kunai and cut through all of them, ignoring Harry's shock at seeing the weapons.

"Now, how do I get the stone? The mirror is obviously the key, and I see myself presenting it to my master, but how…?" the professor muttered. "Is it inside the mirror? Should I break it? Help me, Master!"

And to both of the first year's horrors, another voice spoke, "Use Potter...use him."

"Yes, come here, Potter-" Quirrell turned around, only to get knee-ed in the stomach by a certain Nara, who was feeling completely done with the whole business. The professor doubled over, and Shikamaru wasted no time in breaking the man's wrist to make him drop his wand, which he did with a curse.

"Kill him…" the other voice hissed furiously.

"Of course, Master," Quirrell gasped, trying fruitlessly to escape Shikamaru's grasp. The Nara kicked his side in retaliation.

"Harry, grab his wand and toss it into the fire for me," Shikamaru said calmly, sending the man sprawling with a foot to the back (maybe he was overdoing it a bit, but he was going to give this man _hell_ for trying to kill his friend, and for being evil). Harry dutifully did as told, with a small amount of unholy glee.

"NO!" Quirrell bellowed. It was too late; the wand vanished in a flare of magical fire, and a small explosion.

"Shut up and be quiet while we wait for the professors like a good prisoner," Shikamaru said blandly. Then, Quirrell did something a bit surprising. He twisted out of Shikamaru's grip, wrenching his shoulder in the process, and then lunged and managed to grab Shikamaru's wand handle. He swiftly retreated, panting, with malice painted across his face. He pointed it at Shikamaru, who carefully watched him.

"Now, you pay," the man said, breathless with pain. Shikamaru scowled. He should have just killed him at the first chance. He hadn't because Harry had been present, but the way things were going, he was probably going to regret not doing so. He stepped out of the way of a spell, and inwardly cringed at the resulting explosion behind him.

That would have hurt.

Quirrell continued to throw spell after spell at him, growing increasingly frustrated at his continued misses.

"Stand still, damn you!" the man shouted angrily.

"And let you hit me? I'll pass, thanks," Shikamaru shot back acerbically. Then, the man adopted a crafty expression that set warning bells off in the boy's head.

"If I can't hit you, then Potter will have to do!" the man crowed viciously. He aimed his wand at Harry, who had chanced a quick glance at the mirror and was staying out of the way, and who then looked over in surprise - and who was also in no position to dodge. Shikamaru swore and forced chakra to his legs.

He made it in time to shove Harry aside and get hit in the chest with a spell that knocked the wind out of him and paralyzed him at the same time (and yeah, those were probably cracked or broken ribs... fantastic). He mentally bereted himself, because _of course_ the man would target Harry, and he honestly should have expected as much.

"Shikamaru!" Harry yelped. He moved to come closer, but the Nara shook his head.

"Back off," he said through gritted teeth. "Don't let him get you too."

"Yes," Quirrell drawled, walking towards the immobilized boy. "Do keep away. Would hate for you to undo all of my hard work." He hauled Shikamaru up and pressed the wand ( _his_ wand, damn it!) to his temple. "Now, the stone, if you don't mind. You'll obtain it from the mirror, and I from you, and I might just let you live," the man said triumphantly.

…

* * *

 **Present**

And now, here they were, with a spell fast approaching Shikamaru's brain with uncomfortable speed, and Harry moving. They say a person's life flashes before their eyes when they're about to die.

They're lying. Shikamaru only experienced a feeling of resignation and relief that at least Harry was alive for now, before Harry displayed inhumane speed that he had never before showed the potential for, and _moved_. One moment Shikamaru was on his way to becoming a body on the ground, and the next he _was_ on the ground, but he was still breathing, and Harry had tackled Quirrell's stomach - thankfully too low for the spell to hit him, and Quirrell was _screaming_ as Harry made contact with bare skin on his arm.

And then the man was flailing wildly, shooting off spells left and right and center as the stench of burning flesh filled the air, and the other disembodied voice was filling the air with furious and frantic shrieks and Harry looked to be in immense pain, but he _held on_ , and Shikamaru was avoiding spells while also trying to end the damn bastard already - and then he was hit with a stray spell that sounded strangely like 'crew-she-oh' and his world became pain and he couldn't _think-couldn't_ _ **breathe**_ _couldn't_ _ **move**_ and someone was letting out pained noises in an attempt to keep from screaming that might have been him and he could taste _blood_ but he couldn't _focus_ because all he knew was _**pain**_ \- and there were voices yelling, shouting, shrieking ("KILL THE BOY!") - then everything stopped. **(2)**

Panting, Shikamaru looked up from the fetal position he had curled into, and he noticed two things. The first was that Quirrell was quite clearly dead, nothing more than ash and blisters. The second was that Harry was unconscious and barely breathing. The Nara stood up, ignored the way his body protested violently at the action, and unsteadily made his way over to the other boy. He reached a hand shaking with tremors to Harry's neck, and let himself slump in relief at the pulse that beat, albeit weakly, but it was still there. Footsteps made him while around, biting back a groan as his abused body shrieked.

It was Professor Snape and...Headmaster Dumbledore? **(3)** The pair of them stepped closer, and stopped. Shikamaru belatedly realized that he had risen to his feet and had raised his wand (when had he reclaimed that?), and that, in spite of the fact that his body was on the point of collapse and his arm felt like lead, his aim was steady and he figured his expression was unreadable and vaguely threatening.

The Headmaster raised his hands in surrender.

"We don't mean you any harm," he said gently. The wand didn't move. Somewhere in the back of Shikamaru's mind, a voice was telling him how completely _idiotic_ he was being, but he was exhausted and in pain, and those old reflexes were coming to light and he couldn't be bothered with wrestling down the instincts that had saved his life just now.

"Mister Potter needs medical aid, and I don't think I would be wrong in saying that you do as well," Dumbledore continued. The wand lowered (and how could he have forgotten that the eerily still boy behind him needed help?), and then was down entirely. Both men moved forward swiftly, and Snape was at Shikamaru's side while Dumbledore was similarly positioned with Harry. Both discarded Quirrell's body entirely.

"What were you hit with?" Snape asked, giving the boy a cursory inspecting glance. Shikamaru blinked, and then old habits kicked in, and he pushed the pain to the back of his mind to give a report.

"Some kind of paralysis spell, and something that started with a 'C' that caused each of my nerves to feel immense pain," he said dully. Robotically. The man drew in a breath and examined Shikamaru's eyes. Then, he scowled.

"Can you walk?" he asked. Shikamaru hesitated, but shook his head. As much as he didn't like being touched in any manner, he also had the brain capacity to realize that he probably wouldn't make it out of the room, much less the Hospital Wing, without collapsing. And that was something he really didn't feel like doing.

Snape nodded, and without another word, reached down and picked him up and proceeded to carry him in a princess hold.

Shikamaru would have been a bit embarrassed any other time, but he was in too much pain to care. Snape looked down at him, and something seemed to soften just a little bit in the man's expression.

"Rest, Mister Nara," he ordered. "You will not come to harm with Dumbledore and myself here."

So Shikamaru obeyed and drifted off. His last memory was of Harry being too limp and pale in Dumbledore's arms, and the weight of exhaustion settling upon him when he realized just exactly who had ended Quirrell's life.

…

* * *

He was out of it for a while. He would hear snippets of conversation when he awoke, but he never stayed awake for long.

"-Unforgivable on a child! How dare-"

"...longer than a minute. Incredibly strong boy…"

"... Potter? Did he really kill Quirrell?"

"...self defense, anyone will tell you…"

Shikamaru woke up for the final time days after the ordeal, hungry, stiff, and sore.

"You're awake!" A woman bustled into his vision, and he registered her as the school nurse, Madam Pomfrey. "I was wondering if I would have to move you to Saint Mungo's."

"How long have I-" Shikamaru started, when his voice caught and he started coughing violently.

"Careful now," she said sternly, handing him a glass of water. "I didn't patch you up just so you could go and strain yourself. You've been here for three days. Your friends are quite worried, about you and Mister Potter both."

"Harry." Shikamaru's befuddled brain latched onto the name like a lifeline. "How is he?" The nurse regarded him carefully.

"We had a near miss at the beginning, but he is recovering wonderfully. He will be fully healed in no time." The Nara felt relief pool rise up in his chest - or maybe that was just his ribs healing. "You, however, were hit with an Unforgivable. You were under that spell for over a minute, and you might have residual mental damage. You will stay for observation for the next week at least," the woman continued.

Shikamaru didn't complain. He might later on, but the pain in his ribs just spiked again. Madam Pomfrey handed him a goblet a third full of potion without another word.

"Some Dreamless Sleep for you," she said. He thanked her and drained it.

He was pulled into another few hours of peaceful sleep, before the opening of a door roused him. He didn't open his eyes, instead choosing to find out who it was first. Another perk of being a ninja - fake sleeping to fool even the most observant of people. He had been trained to wake up without a shift in breathing pattern or a twitch. For all intents and purposes, he was dead to the world. There was about twenty minutes of silence before the person in the bed beside his - Harry - stirred.

Shikamaru listened to their conversation at first with disinterest, and then disbelief as Dumbledore _didn't address the loss of life_. Yeah, Quirrell was an evil son of a bitch that deserved worse than he got, but Harry was eleven and there was no way he _wouldn't_ be getting nightmares about this.

Accordingly, Shikamaru waited until the visitors were gone - that included Ron and Hermione because, as well meaning as they were, he didn't feel a lot like socializing - and Madam Pomfrey was in her office before going back to sleep again. On the second day in the Hospital Wing, Harry was just talking out loud, when Shikamaru decided to turn over and face a surprised Harry.

"You're awake?" the boy asked.

"Yeah, have been," Shikamaru said. He checked to make sure Madam Pomfrey was listening to her station, and then turned to his friend. "How are you?"

"Fine, I guess," Harry said. "A little overwhelmed, I guess. There was just so much happening and...I dunno. I feel a little...dazed, I guess, even a few days later."

Shikamaru nodded but let him continue.

"So, Quirrell. I, uh, didn't want to talk to Dumbledore about this, but... he's dead, isn't he?" Harry asked, looking down at his bed.

"Yes." Shikamaru watched his friend carefully.

"And i killed him, right?" Harry continued, still not meeting his friend's gaze.

"Yes."

"Is...is it wrong that I don't regret it? I-I didn't _want_ to kill him, but I'd rather it was him instead of you," Harry said.

"I won't tell you whether it was wrong or not, that's your decision," Shikamaru said slowly. "But...you didn't enjoy it, right?" He almost regretted asking the question at the look Harry shot him.

"Of course not! I didn't - I'd never-" the boy said, looking horrified at the idea.

"Then there you go," Shikamaru interrupted. "As long as you don't enjoy it, you aren't in danger of becoming evil. You'll never forget it, and you shouldn't, but you shouldn't dwell too much over it either. You were defending someone, and you didn't have many options. I would have done the same in your position, so would anyone else, I'm sure."

Harry was so _relieved_ that Shikamaru felt something in his heart tug painfully. He'd lost his own innocence long ago, and while he didn't like killing anymore than his first time, he was also desensitized enough that it wouldn't bother overly much to do so. Such was the life of a ninja. Either shape up or ship out, the latter included getting over the knowledge that killing would become fairly regular.

No one had held his hand, and after Shikamaru's first kills, he had spent nights throwing up into the toilet, but he had gotten used to it, and had stopped being sick. He didn't want that to happen to his friends, so he would try and keep the darker aspects of life from them as long as possible.

"Thanks," Harry said gratefully. Shikamaru nodded. "So, you sound like you know a lot...have you...you know…?"

"Killed someone?" Shikamaru asked with a raised eyebrow. Harry nodded. Suddenly, Shikamaru felt tired and lonely. Here he was, in a society so different from his own that people were taken aback by the end of a human life at the hand of another.

Some of his weariness must have shown on his face, for Harry said tentatively, "You don't have to tell me, sorry, I was just wondering…"

"It's fine. Yes, I have. More than once, and not all for something as noble as self-defense either," the Nara said. There was no bitterness in his voice, nothing to indicate previous sleepless nights and sick hours spent in front of the toilet, and Harry didn't ask, even though it was clear he wanted to, and the Hospital Wing was left in a pensive silence. **(4)**

...

* * *

Shikamaru was exhausted, and he didn't even have a decent reason for it, considering he had spent the past few days in the Hospital Wing. But, all everyone wanted to do was talk about how Quirrell was evil and how he and Harry and Hermione and Ron were heroes, but they didn't seem to realize that Shikamaru just really wanted to let sleeping dogs lie and to never talk about it again.

Neville had run into trouble on his venture to get Snape (Peeves and Filch _and_ the Bloody Baron), which was why the man had been so long in coming. Still, there was no lasting harm done, and everyone seemed to think he had been pretty brave to go on an errand at midnight. So, when at the feast, points were given to him for facing his fears and loyalty to his friends, mostly everyone clapped and meant it.

Shikamaru straight up _refused_ to accept points for his part in the whole thing, on account of: why the hell would anyone be rewarded for breaking over a dozen school rules and endangering lives? He ended up getting Professor Snape to take away the points before hand so that his points would count for nothing. The professor was only too happy to oblige.

The year ended relatively peacefully, with Shikamaru warning people off on pain of he would do something painful and embarrassing if they didn't _fucking piss off about the questions already_. Harry thanked him, later on, and stated that he hadn't liked the attention and probably never would. There went the attention-seeking theory that Shikamaru just _knew_ Snape still had.

Unfortunately, the end of the also meant a return to the orphanage.

"You can come visit any time," Hermione said the day before their departure at breakfast, giving him her address. "Mum and Dad wouldn't mind, especially since you're so smart and have been raised near muggles."

"Yeah, my Mum would enjoy having you over, and the twins would love it," Ron agreed through a mouthful of eggs. "Even Percy doesn't mind you, since you're so studious and you took down a corrupt professor."

"Must be my charming personality and dashing looks," Shikamaru said with a smirk. They only laughed at him. Jerks.

Harry - who had been noticeably subdued for the past few days (and not without good reason) - spoke up unexpectedly, "I'd invite you over, but the Dursleys don't take too kindly to...wizards, or magic in general, really."

"I wouldn't want to be around them either," Shikamaru said, "I might not be able to suppress the urge to react violently in their presence. Going to jail would be too troublesome, _someone_ has to be the brains of this messed up operation."

Harry snickered at the scandalized looks of Hermione and Ron, and Shikamaru felt satisfaction at having effectively lightened the mood up. He'd be fine, and he had an enormous list of plans for the summer already. Neville tentatively offered his place as well, giving a warning about his rather forceful grandmother, and Shikamaru barely kept from giving a statement about violence towards Neville's relatives as well.

He had not forgotten the statement at the beginning of the year about his friend being dropped out of a window as a child. Good Lord, it seemed wizards really _didn't_ have common sense. They apparently also didn't know human anatomy very well, since they clearly didn't know that the neck was fragile and breakable (and yes, it had been a mistake, but Neville shouldn't have been out that window in the first place!).

The train ride back to London was too short, but they made the most of it with cards and snacks and talking. At the station, the twins pulled Shikamaru aside with serious and mischievous looks on their faces (and how was that even possible?).

"Now, owl us if anything happens," George said.

"Yeah, we will certainly be doing the same with our new owls. What was the address of your orphanage again?" Fred added, their two owls twittered good bye to Hypatia, who bore it all stoically. Shikamaru felt his mouth twitch up in a faint smile, and gave his address again. After a farewell, he turned to his other friends. Mrs. Weasley greeted him warmly, as if they had known each other for all of his life, and she received his polite but sincere gratitude for the sweater with a smile. He also met Hermione's parents, who seemed a little relieved that at least _one_ of her friends was normal (relatively, since he was neither a pure blood wizard nor celebrity).

And then Harry's uncle came, and the friendliness was gone, replaced by cold disdain. He didn't say anything though, not wanting to make Harry's life harder than it had to be. Shikamaru _did_ extract a promise of monthly reports from the boy, though, so maybe it would all be okay.

And finally, he turned to where there would be a line of taxis.

He had a lot of work to do before the next year, and while his friends would be relaxing, he knew that he would be busy in the coming months.

His life was finally getting started, and he was more motivated than ever. He would later wonder when he had started acting so differently. Damn Gryffindor mentality of charging into things head first was affecting him.

Ah, well, it wasn't like his summer could be more troublesome than his school year, right?

* * *

 **End of Book 1: Book 2 will be coming out shortly, give it a week or three, under the same story, so stay tuned!**

* * *

 **Charms (Spells):**

 **Freezing Charm (Immobulus): This makes its target unable to move and, interestingly enough, disables electronic devices.**

* * *

 **(1): I distinctly remember this being a thing in the movies, and since they didn't ask Hagrid about Fluffy, this is how it's going down. Shouldn't take stuff from the movies too often.**

 **(2): I'm a terrible person for making Shikamaru get Crucio-ed, but whatever. I don't think Quirrell would have been above throwing an Unforgivable out there.**

 **(3): They're late because stuff took less time in this story and Neville had some troubles getting to Snape…**

 **(4): This happens because Harry is fucking eleven years old and Dumbledore tells him that risking his life is brave and commendable (like...what the hell was he thinking?), and this should have been done in the original series because that's Harry's first kill, unintentional and in self defense as it was (children are delicate), there is no way that Shikamaru would let that fly.**

* * *

 **Guest Reviews (Top to Bottom):**

 **Jiggly Joe:** **To start out with, yes, I am using non-canon events, but only for after the Naruto series. And yes, Shikamaru probably didn't interact much with Sasuke before he went Missing-Nin, but I figured that his wanting revenge on Itachi would have come up at** _ **some**_ **point in time from Naruto or something. It wasn't really a secret that Sasuke wanted power, and it wouldn't be a great leap to figure out why. I probably stretched the connection between Draco and Sasuke a lot, but it's been a while since I read through Naruto, and both of them - from what I can remember - looked down on others and were just generally impolite jerks as children. I'm sorry if that didn't seem like canon, but that's just what I was thinking at the time. Thanks for the review.**

* * *

 **A/N: The end of Book 1! Finally! Thanks for your continued support and reviews and general love. About Snape. People have been asking for me to have him adopt Shikamaru, but I still really like the Lupin being the guardian idea. I think Snape will just be a really close mentor, so sorry! Hope that doesn't deter you from reading. I might take a few weeks to recharge, so don't expect a chapter next week, or even the week after. Thanks for the love and please review.**

 **IMPORTANT QUESTION, PLEASE READ!**

 **Okay, so the summer: do you want me to do the summer as its own chapters, or do you want me to set it up like I did the childhood scenes, with a bit before every chapter? This will probably only go for 2nd year, and summer scenes will be intermixed with a few childhood scenes. Please give me your preferences!**

* * *

 **RECOMMENDATIONS: (Tell me if you like them and have any of your own)**

 **Five Classmates Who Surprised the Hell Out of Him - Sammery: (N) A oneshot with some introspection on Shikamaru's part. It's pretty nice, rated K+, and it's a little fluffy.**

 **Almost Paradise - cywsaphyre: (HP) Very nicely done three-shot about Harry visiting an alternate universe where things are very much better off than his own world. It's a bit angsty, but I love it to pieces and have probably reread it five times. Rated T for violence and hurts.**

 **The True Meaning of Value - Pencilfreak17: (HP) This is a multi-chapter NaruHina fic that is in an Alternative Universe where, instead of ninjas, there are gangs. Everyone is present. It's been rewritten, and I love it. Also present is ShikaTema! Rated T for violence and language (it's Naruto, and gangs…no explanation needed).**


	11. (2) Chapter 1: New Room and Board

_**Summary:**_ **Motivated, miffed, and magical, Shikamaru Nara was a force to behold. Whoever had placed him here was going to get it, but first he'd have to get through a school for magic. And he'd thought ninjas could be stupid. Troublesome.**

 _ **Rating:**_ **T, and should stay that way.**

 _ **Genres:**_ **Friendship, Adventure, Hurt/Comfort, maybe more, I don't know yet.**

 _ **Warnings:**_ **Violence, language, SPOILERS FOR NARUTO AND HARRY POTTER, bits of angst sprinkled here and there, deaths, bullying, non-canon-ness,** **warnings are individual per chapter, might change next chapter or might not** **. No slash or yaoi, yuri, Shounen Ai, or Shōjo Ai. Ask for incest and prepare to be given a virtual flat stare of just no.**

 _ **Pairings:**_ **As far as romance goes, it's canon for both series. Friendship!Shikamaru/Harry &Ron&Hermione&Neville&Fred&George. Mentorship(maybe)!Snape/Shikamaru. I might add more later, if I think of it.**

 **Disclaimer: Not mine ever. Neither will be owned by me in any lifetime.**

* * *

"Speech"

' _Thoughts'_

 _Emphasis on words, writing_

 **Times**

 **(#) A/N at end to explain stuff**

Regular text

* * *

 **Chapter Summary: In which Shikamaru temporarily rids himself of outside stupidity, deals with the vultures known as Family to** **protect his friend, and kills some trees through using paper. (Doing these now, possibly only for this book. We'll see how it works out. Tell me if you don't like it, and I'll stop.)**

* * *

 **A Shadow in Wizard's Robes Book 2 Chapter 1: New Room and Board...Times Two**

 **By: AngelicSilverWolf**

" _You raze the old to raise the new." – Justina Chen, North of Beautiful_

* * *

 **Age 3: Nine years before Hogwarts**

Three year-old Shikamaru spent a lot of time in front of the mirror.

This wasn't out of vanity, or even curiosity, but more out of trying to ground himself to the place where he was stuck, more or less permanently. He stayed holed up in his room and read books or wrote little notes to increase his knowledge and dexterity, while ruminating to himself about his current place of residence. If no one else was aware that the books he read and the language he wrote were not English or Japanese, well, what was one more secret to add to the pile?

Something that frustrated his overly mature mind was his inability to _do_ anything. Either because of his small physical stature, or the general barriers placed on all of those his age, he didn't have a lot with which to occupy himself. Not like he used to, anyway. Before his dimension traveling and subsequent de-aging, Shikamaru had gone on missions or had played games of shōgi with friends and/or comrades alike. Not only had he been in charge of his own actions (mostly, because Temari was bossy and demanding at times), but he hadn't been under lock and key because everyone had known that he was capable enough to take care of himself.

Now, to be fair, no sane person would expect the caretakers of children to just let a three year-old do whatever he wished solely just because he was higher intellectually than the majority of the planet. Children were children, after all, and maturity didn't come with IQ levels. This would have been decent and unchallenged treatment had not said child already gone through one life, and therefore had the experience to back up his whims. But, Shikamaru grudgingly acknowledged, because no one knew this, he would have to deal for the time being.

This didn't make his situation any easier.

Not only was it extremely irritating to be around _normal_ three year-olds (Shikadai hadn't been a problem child in the way of whining and noise, as some children were), but the adults were unbearably...dull. Not to come off as judgmental, but _Naruto_ could think circles around these people without much challenge, and he was practically _known_ for his lack in anything regarding thinking - unless it was with his heart or fists and not with his brains, though he had improved a good deal since becoming Hokage, thankfully. With their narrow-minded views on how the world worked or how it was supposed to work, the adults at Shikamaru's orphanage made it rather difficult to hope that it would get better as he aged.

To keep his mind off of and away from everything that was wrong with the people in charge of his orphanage (like discussing political and religious views in front of impressionable children, or focusing on local gossip instead of more important world or nation news), Shikamaru distanced himself from those that would undoubtedly be detrimental to him later on, and he instead turned to getting himself up to par with the higher intellectuals of this world.

He became well versed in world and national history, making note of important events that caused the world to become the way it was, as well as ones that every good citizen above the age of twelve should know the existence of - i.e.: World War 1 and 2, the Holocaust, the Industrial Revolution, the invention of the telephone, the World Superpowers, how money worked, etc. - and he studied the sciences and maths that colleges were handing out degrees for. He taught himself numerous languages, as well as codes or special linguistic accessories that would no doubt be helpful later in life (like American and English Sign Language, as well as Morse code and Braille).

Of course, he couldn't very well just abandon the somatic area of his body, so when the information got to be too much, he took a break and did chakra and physical exercises in order to regain what he had lost in the process of becoming a child again. He rented books from the library - under a Henge of an older boy - in order to refresh and bolster what information he could remember about training the body from Maito Gai **(1)**. Obviously, improvements were not made within the year, but it was a start. What with careful amounts of exercise and chakra training - like sticking leaves to his forehead and whatnot - he was bound to improve and, possibly, be somewhere near competent by the time he hit five.

All of the work in progress also made for very efficient distracters from two things:

1: the older children that tried to sabotage his efforts because he was smarter than all of them combined,

And 2: the fact that he _desperately_ missed Konoha.

It wasn't just Konoha and its inhabitants, either. He wanted to go back to where nearly everyone either knew about ninja or was one, so they weren't this naive and happy-go-screwed-up-and-spoiled people. In the Elemental Nations, there was a certain...respect for a foe. It wasn't enough to stop mass amounts of bloodshed and violence, but it was there. There was acknowledgement that the other knew that the world wasn't black and white and that there sometimes wasn't such a thing as 'morals', and that one wasn't alone in the monochrome world that was life. It was a little...comforting, almost. But here?

Here, people were still people, but with more ignorance and sheltered lives. Here, people didn't know what it meant to take a life or save one, unless they were in the medical field or law enforcement or the army (or just really unfortunate, or criminals). No, here, people liked to be both brave and cowardly at the same time. They lived on the edge, doing dangerous stunts to gain attention, or going to third-world countries to garner support for political or economic reasons (and what the hell was with politicians here? In the Elemental Nations, they hadn't always been liked all that much, but they had been respected because they had gone through combat training and situations just like every other ninja).

At the same time, these people were terrified of death, something ninjas came to accept as a possibility or reality from late Genin-hood to mid-Chunin-ness - the really lucky (or not) ones sometimes didn't learn until Jounin. Talk about useless wishes, Shikamaru just couldn't understand why people didn't see death as a release and a fact of life. Scientists were trying to find the cure to cancer or trying to figure out lizard regeneration and how it could apply to human anatomy - he didn't comprehend why people were going to such lengths to stay alive longer. In fact, the average life-expectancy was abnormally high to him, many ninja didn't live to see age forty, after all, and these people were going on past that. He himself had been in his early forties when he had been brought to this place.

And so, Shikamaru went through his third year in London, thoroughly unimpressed and rather wishing that something would happen so that he could see if he was improving at all in any areas. Man, he'd never thought he'd want _school_ to start.

…

* * *

 **Present:**

Shikamaru had a relatively normal life for about three weeks, and then everything went to Tartarus in a fluffy pink hand-basket filled with the souls of demented bunnies trapped in sickly garishly colored eggs (was he taking this metaphor too far? Maybe. Was it an exaggeration? Probably. But did the situation warrant it? Most definitely). And, surprise, surprise, it was all because of that unwanted therapist.

Funny how life worked. At first, Shikamaru just thought that the man was a nosy moron with more airs than the queen of England. And then, the man attacked the orphanage. Let that be reiterated.

He _attacked_ the orphanage.

It was a normal day, and Shikamaru's appointment was in ten minutes, so he was making the most of his unfortunately temporary freedom in the sole tree in the backyard, when he heard shouting. Curious, he leapt out of the tree and made his way inside. It was fortunate that he was to the back of the people making the racket, meaning they couldn't see him. He caught one of the younger children by the arm and asked what was happening.

Now, it was pretty much known to all that Shikamaru could fight and was unbelievably intelligent, which was why the child burst into relieved tears. The Nara managed to get "guns" and "scary men" out of the boy before he shushed him and pulled him into a nearby closet. Then, he managed to get the entire story.

His therapist. That damn bastard. Shikamaru would burn him and dance on the ashes (influenced by anyone? Him? No…). At least he hadn't told the man much that could be used against him, since he hadn't trusted him as far as he could throw him - which was probably still rather far - and apparently for good reason. Shikamaru told the boy still sniffling in front of him to get as many people together as he could and to hide and, if possible, phone the police or escape outside of the building. With hurried reassurances, the Nara slipped out of the closet and went to work.

He had never been more grateful for his trace-free wand as he cast several stealth spells over himself. He went around the orphanage - glad he'd had the foresight to explore and memorize all of the shortcuts and hiding places - and gathered all of the children he could. He made a Kage Bunshin under cover of sleepy and/or rowdy kids, and had it Henge into a bird to explore outside the orphanage for possible enemies around the perimeter of the building.

Either the attackers were confident in their abilities of keeping the occupants inside the building, or they were just plain stupid, because there was literally no one outside of the orphanage building, not even a guard in case someone potentially called the police. No getaway car either, and how were these men functioning again? To be fair, their rather uncoordinated plan might have worked if Shikamaru hadn't been there and they were only facing normal civilian people. But they didn't know that they were going against the lead strategist and advisor of Konoha, not mention the Nara clan head. Then, Shikamaru heard something that made him freeze in place.

The intruders were asking for _him_. Something about a prophecy… _'Shit!'_ he thought furiously. Someone had overheard Trelawney. It shouldn't have been such a surprise, she _had_ predicted in a fairly open and public place. And of course, some fanatical follower of He-Who-Continually-Made-Shikamaru's-Life-Harder _had_ to overhear (Drama, anyone? Anyone? Murphy's Law sucked so much).

To the everlasting credit of the adults of his orphanage, after hearing the demand, they promptly told the man to go burn in hell where he and the rest of his group belonged, in not so many words (and Shikamaru was grudgingly impressed with the amount of disdain in their response). That defiance lasted all of twenty minutes as the attackers promptly trooped out of the building set fire to the orphanage with children _still inside_.

Shikamaru was officially _pissed off_.

Horrible and supremely moronic as they were, the people of the orphanage were still people that didn't deserve the fate of burning alive. The same could not be said about the bastards that tried to do them in, however. Accordingly, Shikamaru took charge of the situation with an icy-calm demeanor and went to meet all of the people he had gathered together (in one place, protected by numerous stealth spells and charms, and shields from magical and physical items). He ordered windows to be broken with furniture and the fire kept at bay with wet towels and buckets of water. It should be noted that he was actually acknowledged and listened to. He had one adult phone the muggle police (because the idiots for attackers hadn't bothered to take down the phone lines), while he sent up a surge of magical energy large enough to draw the attention of the Ministry.

Then, after assuring the other people's safety, he reapplied stealth spells around his person, snuck out the door of the guarded room via the now-broken window, and went _hunting_. Let it never be said that deer are harmless herbivores.

The first three were down before the others could draw a breath. Another five soon followed, each taken out by a stab to the heart with his tantō, or a severing spell to an artery or five. The bodies were tossed into the rapidly growing fire (no, he wasn't saving the orphanage because it was literally two hundred years old and would have to be rebuilt eventually anyway) so as to disguise the causes of death.

He had gone through about a third of the enemy numbers before the Ministry wizards arrived (and what the hell was with that authority response time? Half of the children would have burned to death had he not been there). Then, after making sure everyone was alive and relatively unharmed, he slipped away. He might have saved their lives, but he'd be damned if he had to go to _another_ orphanage or something like foster-care. He had enough money to get a room in a hotel or-

Lupin.

Remus Lupin. The solution was so simple; he couldn't help but wonder why it had taken him so long, all of ten minutes. While Shikamaru tried not to be in the habit of owing people, this was a bit of an emergency situation, and besides, it wasn't like it'd be permanent. Lupin was really the only adult he trusted at this point in time, so it'd make sense to go to him for help.

With that in mind, Shikamaru abruptly changed directions, not even startled when Hypatia landed on his shoulder with the small pouch filled with all of his necessary items in it (he hadn't trusted the orphanage much at all - maybe he had trust issues, but who could blame him - so he had shrunk everything he owned down, cast an extension spell on a small brown pouch that could be slipped over his neck, and had placed everything inside in case). He loved his owl.

…

* * *

"What do you mean 'he isn't here'?" Shikamaru asked, trying to remain calm through the alarm that was quickly rising in strength. The landlady frowned down at him, crossing her arms.

"He moved out about six months ago," she said with a shrug. "Hasn't been back since."

"Did he leave an address or phone number?" the Nara asked, trying to retain a neutral tone. Thank God for the T&I training. The number given to him previously was for the apartment, not a cell phone.

"Sorry, kid, I got nothing," the woman said with a bit of sympathy. He thanked her for her help and walked away, thinking furiously.

Well, there went that. Practicalities aside, he felt genuinely hurt that Lupin hadn't even saw fit to leave a note, or something, that he had left. The man didn't seem to be the type to forget about his friendly acquaintances, but it wouldn't be the first time Shikamaru had misjudged someone. It could have been an emergency of some kind, he reasoned. Either way, the Nara needed a place of residency ASAP.

And because most places charged monthly fees, he would probably have to get another part-time job. Oh, well, it wouldn't hurt to have the extra experience, right? He needed to socialize more anyway.

He got a room at the Leaky Cauldron for a fair price, even if it was payment per night, until he found a more permanent place of residency. The barman Tom did ask about his age, but Shikamaru waved away the questions with some excuse about trying to learn the importance of independence. He snagged a second job tending a counter at a convenience store, and managed to repair the damage done to his bank account. Another two weeks passed, and he had just come down for breakfast when a familiar voice called out to him.

"Shikamaru?" Neville asked incredulously. The Nara turned around to see his friend with an old woman who looked stern and powerful at the same time. He felt the ridiculous urge to bow at the sight of her (stupid clan training). This made him more wary than usual; she would be one to watch.

"What are you doing here, Neville?" the Nara asked, keeping an eye on the woman. Neville shrugged.

"Shopping early for school, to beat the crowds and stuff," he said.

"What have I said about using that word?" the woman reprimanded sharply. "'Stuff' is a poor excuse to describe _anything._ " Neville went a little pink.

"Shikamaru, this is my grandmother," he mumbled, making half-hearted gestures with his hands.

"Speak up! I can't hear a thing, and I doubt he can either when you talk like that," the old woman barked. And okay, Shikamaru unfortunately envisioned an image of his mother, except...older and less Asian.

"I heard him alright, Ms.…" he trailed off, realizing he didn't have her name.

"Longbottom," she said, "Augusta Longbottom."

"S-so, what are you doing here?" Neville asked, clearly wanting to steer the conversation away from his lacking oratory skills. His grandmother looked disapproving about the stutter, but Shikamaru answered before she could verbalize it.

"I live here," he said casually. Neville gaped and Ms. Longbottom's eyes sharpened (the part that was too influenced by Kakashi to be healthy snickered at how casually he could make such a fact sound).

" _What_?" the former squeaked. "Why?"

Shikamaru shrugged. "Reasons." If the Daily Prophet hadn't reported the orphanage, then he saw no reason to disclose the matter (though, if he thought about it, it would make sense politically to keep things under wraps, no need to let the public know that the Ministry had let a dangerous Dark Lord supporter go free and nearly murder over fifty people, after all).

He wondered if the muggle government would do the same.

"Okay then...well, good luck?" Neville said, clearly bewildered. At this, Ms. Longbottom frowned outright at her grandson.

"Is that all you will say to a friend in need?" she demanded. Shikamaru's head snapped over to her in undisguised surprise, and Neville noticeably winced.

"Mis-" Shikamaru began, when she gave him a look so reminiscent of his mother that his mouth shut instantaneously on reflex.

"For shame!" she said. "At least offer the boy a place of residency more... substantial than _this_." She gestured at the pub.

Neville was bright pink by now, though Shikamaru couldn't tell if it was embarrassment or shame. Most likely a combination of both, in his private opinion.

"Um, Shikamaru," the boy started, staring at his shoes, when Ms. Longbottom interrupted him. She did that a lot, the Nara noticed.

"Stand up straight and look him in the eye like a man! Your father would have _never_ made such a weak attempt at aiding a friend," she said sharply. Neville drew in a steadying breath and met Shikamaru's eyes. "And quit being hesitant about it, he won't bite you," his grandmother added, probably just for the hell of it.

"Shikamaru, would you like to spend the rest of the summer at my house? You may also come back next summer, if you haven't found a permanent place by then," Neville said formally. Too formally.

"Thanks for offering, but-" Shikamaru was interrupted by an impatient hand.

"Don't be ridiculous, boy," Ms. Longbottom said. "You'll come with us, of course. The rest of that was just formalities. Do you think I would let some young person like you run off by yourself? What kind of person would that make me?"

' _A less aggravating one,'_ Shikamaru thought dryly. He sighed through his nose. "Since you clearly won't listen to any protests, I'll make this less troublesome and agree," he said. "But, I have a couple of jobs I need to do on a daily basis, so will distance be a problem? They're both in this city."

"Working already?" Ms. Longbottom asked keenly. "Interesting - should take a leaf out of his book, Neville. No, it won't be a problem. Ever used the Floo Network, boy?" Shikamaru shook his head while Neville looked on mutely, glum resignation clear on his face. Right, there was still that to deal with (man, Shikamaru hadn't had to work with insecurity in a while. Made him wonder how this would go).

"Well, go get your things, and I'll make the arrangements," she said imperiously. "Neville, go help."

Shikamaru might have protested this, but the look in her eye made him think she wouldn't take 'no' for an answer. Instead, he silently gestured for his friend to follow him up the stairs. They entered his room two flights and half a dozen turns later.

It was fairly sparse since he didn't spend much time in it, though it contained the basic bed and bathroom, as well as a closet and a few pictures. Overall what anyone would expect to see in a hotel room. Hypatia was there, and she hooted a friendly greeting to Neville, who smiled at her. Since he couldn't perform magic in front of his friend without suspicions being created, Shikamaru just started throwing things into the trunk shoved in a corner **(1)**.

"Sorry about my grandmother," Neville said after a pause, "she's a bit forceful." Shikamaru continued packing, both to get the job done and to hopefully lighten the tension.

"Don't worry about it," he said with a shrug. "I appreciate the offer for different living arrangements. Staying in a place like this drains my resources." Neville seemed relieved at that, and there was amiable silence as Shikamaru finished packing in record time. He turned and gestured to the door, and followed Neville back to where Ms. Longbottom was waiting. She eyed Shikamaru with an unreadable look, but said nothing and walked out of the pub. The Nara sighed and hefted his trunk and owl cage - with the owl notably missing, she wasn't overly fond of travelling like luggage.

At least his vacation wouldn't be dull.

…

* * *

Neville's 'house' was enormous. Clearly this was where having pure blood came in handy, considering the size of Neville's estate. Let Shikamaru repeat that, Neville's family had an _estate_. Bigger than a mansion and possibly the size of a small town. It wasn't the only one either, according to Neville's grandmother. Apparently the Longbottom family owned _three_ of the monstrosities.

No, seriously, who needed three estates? Just one probably required lots of maintenance workers, the majority of which were house-elves. Of course, then there was the family itself. The Longbottom family wasn't too big, certainly smaller than the Weasleys, if whatever Ron complained about was anything to use as a reference. However, there was still quite a few of them, in Shikamaru's mind, anyway.

And they all looked down on Neville.

Not just the number of cousins, but the adults too. The first thing said - sneered, really - to Neville when Shikamaru introduced himself as a friend was, "How much did you pay him?"

Shikamaru went still and dangerously straightened out of his customary slouch (hey, it was fun being young again, no need to have proper posture twenty-four-seven). Neville - far too used to such comments to do anything except make Shikamaru become more irked - tried to appeal to his friend's better nature to spare his moronic cousin from a terrible fate. It didn't work, because the unintelligent twit said something along the lines of, "What? Not going to admit it? It's not like I'd expect anything less from a loser like you. You'll ruin the family, you will. Heir my arse."

Even Ms. Longbottom was eyeing their guest warily as his ire steadily rose. The ponce just _kept going,_ in spite of the frantic movements of the so called 'loser' cousin that was trying to save his spectacularly stupid rear.

He ranted about how Neville would cause problems for the adults and how it wasn't fair that a near-squib like him got to attend Hogwarts, while _he_ was stuck at home. He raved about how Neville shouldn't have gotten a letter because he was so useless and slow (and really, Shikamaru had heard evil monologues less irritating than this). And he just kept digging his grave deeper and deeper, unaware that Shikamaru was trying to reign in his temper before something exploded.

And then the cousin made the mistake of mentioning and insulting Neville's parents in the same sentence, and three things happened simultaneously: Neville went whiter than snow - with anger, it might be noted - Ms. Longbottom's eyes tightened dangerously and Shikamaru had finally had enough. Surprisingly, nothing exploded. No, instead, the Nara's magic lashed out and the marble floor of the entrance hall (that's right, Shikamaru had barely stepped onto the metaphorical welcoming mat before someone pissed him off, astounding lack of intelligence was also apparently common among purebloods) and the surrounding stone pillars _cracked._

Neville's cousin stopped talking. Ah, he had somecommon sense after all.

"Listen up, idiot, because I'm only saying this once. You are in no way, shape, or form deserving of the respect you desire, and I would be ashamed of the heads of the universe if someone like you was allowed a gift like magic," Shikamaru said, his language becoming more formal as his inner politician and diplomat surfaced. The one reserved for the political enemies he would crush without mercy. His Shadows were clearly at work with his eyes, for the boy looked ready to defecate in his pants.

"Clearly you need to go to remedial culture and etiquette lessons, for your display of immature behavior and appalling temper are a shame to both your family and purebloods in general. You will _never_ speak to the heir and his _grandmother_ \- an elder to be respected, as you would know if you actually bothered to learn from your manner lessons - or about the respected wizards that are in your family in such a way again, whatever you think. Either your tutor was incapable, or you just decided yourself to be above things like basic social skills. Should I hear anything like the abysmal interaction that I just saw, you will be getting an unpleasant _visit_ ," Shikamaru continued, no hint of anger in his voice, just professionally cold words. His eyes, however, were dark and full of warning. Even Ms. Longbottom found herself hiding a shudder in spite of the approval rising within her, this child was _dangerous_.

The cousin squeaked out an apology, and then ran for his life. Shikamaru took exactly one deep breath, and the oppressive atmosphere vanished without a trace, though his expression was a little tight when he turned to face his friend. **(2)**

"Um...welcome to my house?" Neville tried tentatively, sneaking a quick look at the damaged pillars and floor.

"Ah, sorry about that," Shikamaru said, not sounding at all apologetic. Neville's grandmother waved her hand dismissively.

"It gives the place some character," she sniffed. "I always thought the marble floors and pillars were too... expected of a pure blood family. Besides, it was amusing to see that child get scolded, I don't know _what_ his parents were thinking."

Neville gaped at his grandmother and Shikamaru smirked in satisfaction.

"Well? Show your guest his room or, your room since you two will be rooming together," she said briskly. "Dinner will be in exactly three hours. _I_ have some relatives to find."

Still stunned, Neville led the way to his room with an entirely new perception of his grandmother and increased appreciation for his friend.

...

* * *

 _Shikamaru,_

 _How are you? I heard from my mom about an orphanage attack and the building being burned down. She couldn't remember the name, but the location sounded familiar; that was your orphanage, wasn't it? Were you injured? I have been trying to get my hands on information about the attack, but I haven't been able to for some reason. It's rather frustrating, actually. Are you somewhere safe?_

 _Also, have you heard from Harry at all? I've asked Ron, but he hasn't gotten any replies from his letters either. I hope everything's okay. Please let me know, and Ron too, he's worried because the Daily Prophet didn't cover the attack - strangely enough. I told him and he asked his dad, who hasn't heard anything about it either. That's weird, isn't it?_

 _Anyway, with hopes for your well being,_

 _Hermione._

 _Hermione,_

 _I'm doing okay, sorry for worrying you. It's been somewhat busy recently, but I'm actually staying with Neville for the rest of the summer. Consequently, I have found a whole new dislike for pure blood 'expectations'. Let me just hint at my meaning by saying that Neville doesn't just get picked on at school. On a completely unrelated note, several of his cousins and relatives now fear me for some odd reason… Maybe it's karma finally coming back to bite them for so many years of mistreating a family member._

 _And, in answer to your questions, I did in fact help defend the orphanage from an attack by a You-Know-Who supporter, but I didn't return to it and left to stay at the Leaky Cauldron, which is where Neville found me. I've been managing two part-time muggle jobs for school supplies, so you'll forgive the late response? Also, I'm not surprised that the Ministry hasn't said anything about the attack on the orphanage. It was by a self-proclaimed follower of You-Know-Who (can I ever just use the man's_ _ **name**_ _?) who was posing as my...therapist - disturbing lack of screening as far as background information goes. He came suddenly and tried to hold the orphanage occupants hostage, but eventually just set the entire building on fire with the people still inside. I managed to get everyone out okay, and I hope that bastard's rotting in Azkaban._

 _Hypatia has been coming back with the letters I send to Harry, so I just stopped a few days ago. Whatever is happening is disabling owl contact, I believe. I'll owl Ron so that he doesn't worry much. Don't stress over Harry, I'm sure he's fine. Whatever is keeping him from owling us probably isn't hurting him, otherwise we'd have heard about it in the paper._

 _Regards,_

 _Shikamaru._

 _Ron,_

 _I'm fine. I can feel you wondering however many miles away, and I'd like you to stop before you hurt yourself. And please tell me you haven't told the twins about my... situation? I'm living with Neville, and am therefore very safe and secure. Any images of me previously living on the streets or in shady corners can be banished right now, because before Neville, I lived in the Leaky Cauldron. Just to save us all some ink and paper from the inevitable questions, my orphanage was attacked by an overzealous You-Know-Who supporter, who apparently doubled as what muggles call a 'therapist' (I believe the equivalent would be a mind-healer in the wizarding world?). No one was hurt, but I'm not going back to that orphanage and thus have ended up where I am now._

 _By the way, have you had any luck with Harry? It's been a week, and Hermione has only gotten more concerned. If you can contact him, let me know so that I can set Hypatia on him for making Hermione worry so much. Tell me if and when you get news. How are_ _ **you**_ _, by the way?_

 _Still in one piece,_

 _Shikamaru._

 _Our budding prankster,_

 _Ron has seen fit to inform us of your plight._

 _Don't lie, Fred, you stole his letter. I saw you. He was very cross with us about it._

 _And we feel very hurt that you would hide such a thing from us! (Details, twin of mine, details. And he needs to learn that sharing is caring anyway, no better time than the present.)_

 _There is no 'we' in 'me', brother dearest. The hurt is all yours. (And not always, Frederick, what about Herpes? Surely it can't be 'caring' to spread_ _ **that**_ _.) But I am questioning these sudden lines of secrets, Shika. I fully expect some answers in a letter, and soon-_

 _If you_ _ **don't mind**_ _, Georgie, I was_ _ **trying**_ _to make a point. (And you know how I feel about being called Frederick, it isn't even my name! Am I really going to argue with you about_ _ **Herpes**_ _, of all things? Because, if so, I will most certainly win.) Anyway, Mister Nara, I intended on fully sending you on a well deserved guilt trip before my dear twin interrupted me-_

 _Not without good reason (and no, I wasn't arguing Herpes with you, good chocolate frogs and fireworks, I was merely questioning your quip. Why on earth you would wish to discuss a disease like...that is beyond me…)_

 _ **But**_ _...oh, now I've lost my train of thought. (I am very much done with this conversation now, we are probably desecrating Shikamaru's brain with all this talk of Herpes, if he knows what it is.) Good going, brother. Anyway, write back soon with information on_ _ **everything**_ _(_ _and he does mean everything, all the juicy details, and it's your fault for bringing it up_ _) or you'll be hearing from us again in a week's time, with something less pleasant than a letter._

 _Sincerely,_

 _Gred and Forge._

 _Troublesome twins,_

 _Your owls wouldn't stop badgering Neville, Hypatia and I before I finally read your letter (and how many owls does it take to send one letter, anyway). I do hope you know that I have a life, right? I have things to do, places to be and see and-_

 _Hi, Neville here, uh...Shikamaru got pulled away by some stranger. We're sitting in Florean's ice cream place, by the way. Shikamaru has got two jobs already, and apparently applied for a third. Is that legal? Anyway, he's staying at my house since his orphanage was...made unsuitable, and he's been here for about two weeks. We're doing okay, even if he's scared the robes off of most of my cousins. I think you'd be proud._

 _By the way, have you met a DADA 'expert', Lockhart? Shikamaru reckons he's an 'unintelligent idiot that wouldn't know a defensive spell if it smacked him upside the head' (his words, not mine). I only met him because there were some last minute books Shikamaru wanted to get, and we literally ran into him while he was doing a book signing (apparently he's doing a 'special' this summer, one signing a month). I barely kept Shikamaru from hexing the twat's (again, not my words) face off, but I count it as a success. Oh! Here's Shikamaru back again, good talking to you both._

 _Right, sorry about that. I just had to secure another means of income because the two muggle jobs are very nice, but it would be good to have some wizarding experience too in the work field. So, I'm staying with Neville - as you already know - and it's been pretty nice, even though his house-elves are consistently trying to stuff me full of food because I'm 'too short and skinny' for someone my age. Other than adorably dangerous magical creatures (I'm sure I saw a unicorn around here somewhere…), I'm fine._

 _Yes, my orphanage was attacked by an insane follower of You-Know-Who (gotta come up with another expression for him), but no one was hurt besides the building that needed to be replaced anyway, and I escaped a life of unintelligent people that strived to make my life hell on earth. A win-win, I think. Heard from Harry yet? I hope so, that boy will give Hermione and I ulcers by the time we're fifteen._

 _Also, the continued discussion of the sexually transmitted disease known as Herpes is both disturbing and enlightening. Teenage boys will be teenage boy, hormones and all that, and as a matter of fact, I do know all about 'the Birds and the Bees', so there is no mental scarring here from that. I think you'll find some other way to imprint less than nice thoughts in my brain somehow, though._

 _The continued insomniac,_

 _Shikamaru (_ _and Neville_ _)._

 _Shikamaru,_

 _Uh...hi? I, er, have had a strange and peculiar summer, but that's probably typical and should be expected of The-Boy-Who-Lived (what's with all the hyphens? I swear I didn't use half as many before I became a wizard). First of all, I got visited and harassed by a house-elf that apparently belongs to the Malfoys but wasn't acting on their orders. Kept going on about saving my life and Hogwarts being dangerous this year. Ron thinks it was probably barking mad, and I have to say, I'm inclined to agree._

 _Anyway, the house-elf (Dobby) kept all of my mail from me, and ended up aggravating my relatives to the point where I was pretty much a prisoner in my own room - and treated worse than one too at that - until the Weasleys came to get me. I'm not telling you this so that you can get mad - Ron's done enough of that for the group of us - but because I know you'd kill me if I didn't. But now I'm very much okay and living with the Weasleys. Oh, yeah, Ron and I met that person named Lockhart you mentioned in your letter to the twins, the guy who wrote our DADA books for this year. Our new Defense teacher must be some delusional witch or something, because he seems like a bit of a fruitcake, to put it lightly (Ron's words, not mine). I'd bet all of the gold in Gringotts that he can't do half of the things that he claims he can in his books (yes, I started reading them and had to stop. They were so...anyway)._

 _Also, I heard about your orphanage. I'd say I'm sorry, but I have a feeling you're not particularly beat up about it. I'm just glad you're alright._

 _The-Boy-Who-Lives-As-Life's-Punching-Bag,_

 _Harry._

 _Boy-of-Woes,_

 _Met Lockhart, and not at all impressed, to say the least. He seems very prideful and…fake. Hopefully our teacher is only misguided and not similar in personality and skill. Sorry to hear about the house-elf. They are very cunning creatures, aren't they? Despite their lack of education or ability to speak English properly, they are quite wily. Yours seems to be a certain type of special, though._

 _Perhaps Malfoy sent him as a prank and then told him not to tell? I don't know, other creatures can be rather unpredictable. Be careful, though, because if the elf is indeed crazy, than he may go to extreme lengths to 'help' you. Just be on guard for now. Hopefully he won't try anything when you're with the Weasleys._

 _And I am not particularly upset about my orphanage, other than the fact that the leader was the therapist that was supposed to be helping me, not spying on me. I guess there are creepy ones everywhere._

 _Anyway, I'm glad you survived the house elf and your deplorable relatives._

 _Friend-of-the-Boy-Who-Has-Been-Too-Influenced-By-Other-Wizards,_

 _Shikamaru._

 _Queen,_

 _Yes, I am calling you by the chess piece that you were decided as last year. Why not? It's fun. So, how's it at Neville's? Any better? Are his relatives still being prats? I bet they are, people can't change so quickly._

 _So anyway, what's with the focus on Mr. Fakes-a-Lot? It's like we're doing what he wants by talking about him and his teeth so much. Although, Harry says he probably doesn't have that much intelligence, but still… I just hope the teacher this year knows what she/he's doing, and not completely focused on Lockhart and all that._

 _Ginny says hi, even though she's never met you before, and Scabbers is as lazy and useless as ever. Man, I want a new pet. Even a bloody toad would be better than this fur ball of worthless. Whatever. See you around, and try not to kill any of Neville's relatives before the start of school, yeah? I'd hate for you to be arrested before second year._

 _Ron._

Shikamaru shook his head at Ron's letter and folded it up, placing it with the others.

"How's Ron?" Neville asked, munching on a biscuit.

"Fine," Shikamaru replied. He sighed and stood up. "All packed for tomorrow?" he asked. Neville nodded.

"Yup. I didn't even lose Trevor this time," he said happily. Shikamaru smirked.

"Then, that's an improvement from last year. What do you say we make it a record by not losing him on the train?" he teased lightly. Neville laughed, taking it with good humor. The summer with a supportive and defensive friend had done wonders for his self-confidence and social skills.

He was more relaxed and much less shy when around Shikamaru or his grandmother, which was good enough, the former supposed. Soon, Shikamaru would have his friend confident around _all_ people, but it was a marked improvement from the shy and insecure boy he had once been.

"Man, it's going to be strange being back at Hogwarts, right?" Neville sighed. He stood up as well, and surveyed the enormous back yard that he and Shikamaru had been lying in. The latter had taught the former the benefits of cloud watching - complete and utter relaxation. Not to mention it was good for the imagination.

"Yeah. At least we won't have to deal with a possessed professor, right?" the Nara asked dryly. Neville grinned.

"Ah, see? Now you've just jinxed us!" he said. He pointed at his friend in an accusing manner. "Now we'll have to deal with an incompetent professor, You-Know-Who, _and_ a mystical item! You've doomed us all!" he declared dramatically.

Shikamaru just raised an unimpressed eyebrow. "Eh, well, we'll deal with it. No year will ever be completely normal with the 'Potter' luck," Neville said.

The aforementioned luck had been aptly named sometime the previous year, referencing Harry's almost impeccable ability to find the largest source of trouble and dive in head first, bringing his friends with him, usually. Well, nothing could be worse than the previous year, right? It was only school, after all.

He should have known so much better than to assume.

* * *

 **Ninjutsu (Techniques):**

 **Henge no Jutsu (Transformation Technique):** **Can change the user into other people, objects, plants, or animals. E-rank, hand seals are Dog – Boar – Ram, in that order**

* * *

 **(1): Might Guy is what is on Narutopedia, but I'm just gonna use the other version on there, Romanji (?)**

 **(2): He doesn't know that magic isn't individually identified and is usually just identified by area, so the Ministry wouldn't know he used magic in the Leaky Cauldron even without his trace removed.**

 **(3): I figured that if Neville has trouble at school, he would probably have problems at home too. I don't know if the cousins are canon or not since Rowling only provides a grandmother and great aunt/uncle, but I figured that a pure blood family would have more than just than six members, right?**

* * *

 **Guest Reviews: (Bottom to Top):**

 **TEMMM** **: Here's the update you asked for! Sorry it's so late and stuff. And thanks for being a fan. Actually, this chapter was surprisingly difficult to get out, but this is it! I hope I didn't disappoint. Thank you so much for the wonderful review!**

 **Allison:** **Well, I'm glad you like my stuff so much. Sorry if I've kept you in suspense for a long period of time. And thanks for checking out what I recommend, I feel like those people deserve some recognition for their efforts. Much gratitude for the review, especially if you've written all of the other ones posted by 'Allison'.**

 **Allison (5):** **And wow, I'm glad you like it. I particularly liked that one as well, hence the recommendation. Thank you for the kind review.**

 **Allison (5):** **I'm not sure if it's you who has been reviewing twice on some of my chapters, so I'll just answer them all individually. And I will definitely be revising my former chapters later on; right now I'm just trying to squeeze some second year material out. Thanks for the review!**

 **Jen:** **No, thank** _ **you**_ **for the review. And I have taken all opinions into account when making this chapter, so I hope it makes you happy. And while I acknowledge that I am in fact the author, it won't be without input from the readers, for whom I'm partially doing this for. Here's the new chapter! A few weeks late…**

 **kuro kage:** **I'm very glad you like this story. And no, I'm sorry, but this story won't have more Naruto arriving in the HP verse, mostly because this is about Shikamaru and what I think his impact would have been in the HP world. And your English is beautiful, dear, we all make mistakes. Thanks for the review! Please continue to ask questions or even make suggestions!**

 **DarkerBeauty** **: Wow, I'm very flattered by your declaration, and also quite happy. And I'm rather impressed by the whole reading it in six hours, that takes dedication. I have finally come out with this chapter, and I will certainly be doing the rest of the books. And I would have PMed you, but I decided to do this instead, hope you don't mind? Anyway, thanks for reviewing despite not being logged on!**

 **Allison:** **Well, I hope you don't mind this format, I just decided that it would be easiest to do the summer in one chapter, otherwise there wouldn't have been enough content for a group of them. Thanks for reviewing and giving input! It is always appreciated.**

 **Wakamme:** **Thank you! And I will certainly recommend some crossovers that I find wonderful, certainly better than my own. Much appreciation for the review!**

* * *

 **A/N: Woohoo! Summer is done in 1 chapter, and I'm finally back! After *checks calendar* ya know, two months of unexpected hiatus. *Sweats* Eh, heh, sorry? Anyway, while regretting the absence, it wasn't completely without reason. 1: I had to reread the second HP book in order to remember what the heck actually happened in this one, 2: I went around and checked out a butt-ton (and I do mean butt-ton, 461 liters) of FanFics and other books for writing style analysis.**

 **So, my writing style might be a little different, I don't know, hopefully for better. I was going for less dialogue and more outside info, like an actual book or something… tell me if it was successful? Thank you so much for all of the support and a mind blowing amount of praise for the first part of my story! Please review - and I hope the next chapter will actually be on time.**

* * *

 **RECOMMENDATIONS: (Tell me if you like them and have any of your own)**

 **Messing With Time - Nim-the-Lesser: A rather humorous multi-chapter story where Harry goes back in time. Fun and un-canon events ahead, because Harry is a bold little shit that does whatever he damn well pleases. Rated M, but not for sex so far.**

 **If The Sky Comes Falling Down - Kolbie Ru-Ru: Nice multi-chapter fic which hasn't updated in a bit, but I still am rather fond of it. Sasuke sort of discovers that things suck in the future, and therefore decides to do something about it. Make your own conclusions. Rated T.**

 **you can be king again - zxycyan: Oneshot Naruto/Sasuke friendship story, where they're both kids and having a heart-to-heart. It's adorable, and the author(es) says it might be pre-slash, but not actually slash, so it's okay for those of you who don't do that sort of thing. Rated K+ for heavy topics.**


	12. (2) Chapter 2: How to Not Take a Picture

_**Summary:**_ **Motivated, miffed, and magical, Shikamaru Nara was a force to behold. Whoever had placed him here was going to get it, but first he'd have to get through a school for magic. And he'd thought ninjas could be stupid. Troublesome.**

 _ **Rating:**_ **T, and should stay that way.**

 _ **Genres:**_ **Friendship, Adventure, Hurt/Comfort, maybe more, I don't know yet.**

 _ **Warnings:**_ **Violence, language, SPOILERS FOR NARUTO AND HARRY POTTER, tiny bit of angst in the begining, non-canon-ness,** **warnings are individual per chapter, might change next chapter or might not** **. No slash or yaoi, yuri, Shounen Ai, or Shōjo Ai. Incest remains off the table.**

 _ **Pairings:**_ **As far as romance goes, it's canon for both series. Friendship!Shikamaru/Harry &Ron&Hermione&Neville&Fred&George. Mentorship(maybe)!Snape/Shikamaru. I might add more later, if I think of it.**

"Speech"

 _Emphasis on words, writing_

 **Times**

 **(#) A/N at end to explain stuff**

Regular text

* * *

 **Chapter Summary: Shikamaru deals with a few potential headaches, tries - and fails to take a nap - and 'incompetent' takes on a whole new meaning with Lockhart's lesson.**

* * *

 **A Shadow in Wizard's Robes Book 2 Chapter 2: How to Not Take a Picture**

 **By: AngelicSilverWolf**

' _Wisdom consists of the anticipation of consequences.' – Norman Cousins_

* * *

 **Age 6: Five years before Hogwarts.**

Shikamaru was sick. With what could possibly be the flu. Damn the world and himself for thinking he could do this. He hadn't been ill in years, _years_. It was the level of illness where it would take forever to recover from, the first few days being hell.

He had a slight temperature, a perpetual headache, nausea, and nearly no energy. So, maybe he should see a doctor. Right. As if. He'd just recover on his own, away from other people. It wasn't like anyone would take him to see one anyway. The last time he'd been sick was when he was a teen and dating Temari.

He'd shown up at her house to go on a mission with a high fever and a slightly delusional mind. She'd called him an idiot, and had proceeded to take care of him for the next four days as he recovered. Of course, the close proximity had increased her chances of catching what he'd had, and she had. She had not been amused. Actually, neither had he been. Retribution was a bitch.

He lay curled up in his bed with a glass of water on the nightstand beside him. One of the nicer - younger - children had brought it to him when he'd missed breakfast because he been up during the night vomiting into the toilet (doctors were looking pretty good right about now). He drifted off to sleep and dreamed about his wife and son, both of whom gave him equal looks of exasperation. All throughout the night, he was treated by his family, and he was happy. It was peaceful, it was nice, and it felt real.

He woke up the next morning with an aching heart and a healed body. Never mind his strange recovery that he would think on later, he missed his family, dammit.

He wanted to go home. **(1)**

…

* * *

 **Present:**

Ron and Harry were missing. School hadn't even started yet, and trouble was happening. This was shaping up to be a _fantastic_ year already. Hermione clearly thought so too, for she alternated between worrying at her bottom lip and trying to read her book. Actually, come to think of it, Snape was missing too.

That... probably didn't mean anything good. Shikamaru watched the sorting go by, noting how distracted McGonagall was. As soon as the sorting was finished, McGonagall rushed out of the hall, startling a few students in her haste to leave. Honestly...did teachers not know the meaning of 'subtle'? No wonder everyone always knew those 'top secret' happenings that went on in the castle. Even Dumbledore didn't seem half as cheerful and twinkly as usual, though he put on a convincing show for everyone but the former ninja.

As soon as the food was distributed, Shikamaru turned to Hermione.

"What do you think?" he asked. She frowned slightly.

"I don't know, it probably has to do with why Harry and Ron are late. Do you think they're okay? Maybe they're hurt," she said a little fearfully. Neville shook his head.

"If it's them, they probably _caused_ whatever is happening and are fine," he disagreed. Shikamaru was inclined to agree, but that was when the whispers broke out.

"-heard there was a car involved! A flying one!"

"That Potter never can do anything by halves."

"Weasley was there too-"

"A flying car?" Hermione mouthed in horror. She locked eyes with Shikamaru, who nodded grimly. Statue of Secrecy potentially broken.

"Think Dad and Mum have found out yet?" Fred - from a couple seats over - asked his twin casually. George grinned.

"I don't envy our younger brother if what people are saying is true," he replied. Percy scowled at them.

"This isn't funny!" he hissed furiously. His blue eyes were dark with anger. Ginny - the newest Weasley - eyed him fearfully.

"What's so bad if they did?" Dean interjected breezily. "It's just a car, and only one at that."

"That's a law for a reason!" Hermione said, swelling up in righteous indignation. "The Statue of Secrecy-"

She was cut off as another student started theorizing on why and how Harry and Ron had gotten a flying car. Actually, that was a good point. How _had_ the two gained access to a flying car? They certainly didn't have the skill to enchant one themselves. Then, Shikamaru noticed the Weasley siblings exchanging knowing glances.

"What?" Hermione asked, surprisingly cluing in.

"Well," Fred started sheepishly.

"Our dad sort of enchanted a car to fly," George butted in.

"'Sort of'?" Hermione blinked at them incredulously. "How does one 'sort of' make a car fly?"

"Well, they start by adding a ton of levitation enchantments," George began, when Percy's slightly alarming noises turned into outright spluttering.

Shikamaru turned away from the impending argument as someone said, "Hey isn't that Gilderoy Lockhart? What's he doing here? Shouldn't he be off writing more books?"

Multiple heads turned, and Hermione and a number of other girls squealed while Shikamaru and a group of boys groaned. Wonderful. Exactly what his life needed – another incompetent professor. This one didn't look suspiciously evil, though, just unintelligent.

"Oh no," Neville sighed.

"Oh, _yes_!" Parvati said happily. "He's _so_ much more handsome in person!"

Dean and Seamus mimed vomiting and choking next to her while Lavender and Hermione nodded in agreement, for once.

"But what's he doing _here_? In Hogwarts? I didn't peg him for a teacher type," Neville said reasonably. "Also, wasn't he late? I didn't see him earlier."

Parvati turned to start waxing on about how Lockhart didn't _need_ to be on time, since he was so handsome. Neville protested this, and Shikamaru just stopped listening. He needed his brain cells intact, thank you very much.

Dinner continued on in this vein until the deserts were cleared away, and Dumbledore stood up.

"Now, as many of you might have noticed, we have a new arrival," he said, eyes twinkling when several girls squealed as Lockhart smiled winningly. "Mister Lockhart will be taking over the post of the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor for the year, as we have run into a vacancy."

"Vacancy is one word for it," Shikamaru said dryly. He shook his head. He didn't know what the headmaster was thinking. The man was most probably a poser - no one who had been in so many life-threatening situations could come out so arrogant and self-absorbed, especially if it had been to help half as many people as he claimed. He tuned out the usual warnings and stood up with the rest to go to the dormitories.

Somehow, he and Hermione got separated from the rest of the Gryffindor house - by talking and not paying attention - and ran into Ron and Harry outside the portrait hole, both looking a mixture of happy and apprehensive to see them. Hermione, somewhat predictably, started in on them immediately.

"Where have you _been_? There have been the most ridiculous rumors-" she began furiously, when Ron cut her off impatiently.

"Yeah, yeah, what's the password?" he asked.

"'Wattlebird, but that isn't the point-" she said, only to get cut off again as the portrait swung open. Immediately, there were a slew of people pulling Harry and Ron inside with cheers and grins, while Hermione was left to stew in disapproval and Shikamaru to sighing.

"C'mon," he said wearily. With pursed lips and lowered eyebrows, she followed him inside, only to listen to the stream of _approval_ from their housemates. Gryffindor, right.

"It's like they don't even care that Harry and Ron just broke a law!" she hissed angrily, watching the two boys grin and blush. "I mean, it's so irresponsible to encourage that kind of behavior!"

"They aren't thinking of the consequences of what they could have done, Hermione," Shikamaru said quietly. "They just broke a school rule, and they're too young to realize that it could have had serious repercussions for the Wizarding World."

"What do you mean?" she asked, clearly having only thought about the law-breaking and subsequent flouting of being free of serious punishment as well. Shikamaru sighed again. How to explain simply and yet simply enough to not scare her…

"Alright, so the Statute of Secrecy is clearly in place for a reason. One being, even though wizards _claim_ it's so that muggles don't bother us, it's because they acknowledge that they're a threat - either because of their frankly ridiculous population, or because of their advances in science and technology. Based on the arrogance of most wizards, I'm going with the former.

'Honestly though, non-magical people can treat _different_ people pretty badly. Ever hear of human experimentation?" He continued at her slight nod. "Well, there are some people who could and would do anything to get their hands on something like magic. They would probably even succeed. I don't want an innocent child getting cut open just because someone discovered magic and decided to _explore_ it."

Hermione looked a little sick. And he was sorry for doing that to her, but she needed to think beyond just rule breaking being a bad thing and actual consequences that could affect her.

"But... couldn't the wizards stop them? I mean…" she trailed off weakly. He gave her a flat look.

"Do you honestly think a wizard could react in time to stop a bullet? Or that they could defend themselves from twenty hired-guns at once, especially if they're an untrained child?" he asked, though not unkindly. She looked down. "Obviously, there would be fighting back and large casualties on both sides, but muggles have chemical warfare and atomic bombs. I don't think they would lose if we got into a war, despite our magical creatures." **(2)**

Hermione was silent for the rest of the time he was down there - not much longer because the celebrations were giving him a headache - and she seemed out of it when he said goodnight. He didn't, however, notice the thoughtful look the Weasley Prefect was giving him when he went upstairs.

In the dorm, Shikamaru found Harry and Ron already asleep, grins on their faces. He shook his head. They would be in for a rude awakening the next day, whether it be because of Hermione's disapproval or his own.

…

* * *

They felt awful. He could see it on their faces. Harry - at least, because of the work inquiry Mr. Weasley was facing - Ron, probably because of the mortification the Howler that had arrived minutes previously had provided. Hermione apparently came to the same conclusion as she didn't give them much grief for their stunt with the car. Her half-hearted admonition was interrupted by McGonagall handing out schedules.

First class was double Herbology with the Hufflepuffs, for which Shikamaru was grateful since they weren't liable to rile Harry and Ron up for the Howler. Unfortunately, when they came to the greenhouse, the newly made professor, Lockhart, was there, chatting to a disgruntled Professor Sprout. She irritably told them their greenhouse and then escaped from the man's attention - which had been refocused on Harry. The man hadn't done any more than say, "Harry!" when Shikamaru took hold of Harry's elbow and dragged him into relative safety of the greenhouse, leaving Hermione to give Lockhart an apologetic and adoring look.

No way was Shikamaru leaving a friend alone with that man any more than he had to. Stupidity was contagious.

"Shikamaru! That was so rude! Professor Lockhart wanted to talk with Harry," Hermione hissed, stomping over to him.

"No, he wanted to talk _at_ him. Harry wouldn't have been able to get a word in edgewise," Shikamaru replied flatly. The man actually reminded him of a certain blond Hufflepuff that claimed he was descended from Helga herself. Smit? Smithe? "Either way, we have class."

Hermione backed off at that, but her disapproving frown proved that the argument wasn't over.

Shikamaru ignored her and turned his attention to the pairs of earmuffs that sat waiting as Professor Sprout started the lesson. Mandrakes, hm? While not quite as well versed in plants as he was with animals (that was all Neville's territory), he found it interesting that it was in the curriculum to let a few kids handle these rather dangerous plants. They probably weren't - yes, they weren't fully grown so no one would die if someone's hand slipped. Maybe he could use it on Lockhart and then he wouldn't have to go to his class.

Shikamaru dutifully put on a pair of earmuffs, depriving some poor soul of ones that weren't pink and fluffy, and watched the woman pull up a Mandrake. It was, without a doubt, the ugliest baby-looking-thing that he had ever had the displeasure of seeing. He watched a little enviously as Professor Sprout easily re-potted the squalling plant, and removed his earmuffs at the thumbs up. The rest of the class was spent placing the plants into their pots. Shikamaru discreetly asked Neville – through use of charades and physical movement - if there was an easier way to do the process. His answer was a rather glum head shake. Resigned to the inevitable, he spent the rest of class trying to keep his earmuffs on - the Mandrakes were grabby things - and his hands from being bitten.

He didn't much fancy getting some rare infection via plant baby.

After Herbology - and after meeting some dude named Justin Finch Fletchley - the disaster known as Transfiguration happened to Ron. With his wand that was nearly snapped in half and his determination not to ask for another on pain of Howler from his mother, his magic was debatable at best. Shikamaru would have felt sympathetic for him, but he was actually with Hermione with this. Those two deserved some sort of punishment - Harry had his conscience and Ron had his wand.

Plus, it was a little amusing to see how McGonagall was severely displeased with Ron after class. Though, it was her fault for letting him do magic with a mostly useless wand. After class, Neville wisely disappeared from the irate redhead's sight, having actually transfigured his own beetle into a button, and not having the sturdiness to deal with his temper like the other three. They – being Shikamaru and Harry - listened to him complain and Hermione bicker with him on the way to lunch.

" _Why_ have you outlined Lockhart's class in hearts?" Ron demanded, not looking at all like he had...wow, twenty minutes ago. Where had lunch gone?

Hermione flushed furiously and snatched her schedule back. Harry, meanwhile, stared at Hermione, as if wondering how someone so intelligent could fall for someone like Lockhart. Shikamaru shared his sentiments. After lunch, they went outside. Hermione cracked open _Voyages with Vampires_ , and Harry and Ron started a conversation about Quidditch.

Shikamaru ignored all of them and lay down for a late nap. He had lots of sleeping to catch up on, even though he'd slept plenty at Neville's. Unfortunately, he didn't get more than five minutes into his quick rest before he felt someone staring at their group. It didn't seem hostile, so he took his time in waking his mind up. As soon as he saw the camera and awestruck first year, he wished he'd been faster about it.

Apparently Harry saw him as well, for a glance from him made the younger boy go red.

"All right, Harry? I'm - I'm Colin Creevey," he said. Shikamaru watched him carefully through slitted eyes, not betraying his awareness. "I'm in Gryffindor, too. Do - do you think it would be okay if I could take your picture?" He raised his camera, as if to accentuate his point.

"A picture?" Harry asked in confusion, clearly not understanding. Shikamaru thought he might, but he wanted to be sure.

"So I can prove I've met you," Colin said brightly, moving forward. Shikamaru opened his eyes all the way. "I know all about you. Everyone's told me about how you got rid of and survived You-Know-Who. A-and how you've got the scar and everything." His eyes moved to the very visible scar on Harry's forehead. Shikamaru sat up all the way, interrupting Colin's fervent speech.

"Sorry," Shikamaru said flatly. "As a friend of his, I won't let him be taken advantage of by people who only care about the Boy-Who-Lived, as opposed to just Harry, the human being and twelve year-old Come back when you're less interested in the hero and more about the boy." **(3)**

Everyone gave him a stunned look, Harry most of all. What? Like he would leave Harry to the metaphorical sharks. In his honest opinion - and maybe this was influenced by his training of anonymity - attention was almost never good, no matter how 'positive' it was.

Either people looked up to a person and placed them on an impossible pedestal ( _*cough_ Sasuke _cough*_ ), and said people became disturbingly nasty when their expectations weren't met, or they gossiped about the person behind their back. And that was the _good_ kind of attention, too. No way in hell was a twelve year-old boy, who already had enough shit in his life, going to face the fickle thing known as the Public under Shikamaru's watch.

Shikamaru sighed at the suspiciously shiny look Colin gave him. He stood up gracefully.

"Over here. I'm going to give you some advice," he said. He led the younger boy to a secluded area a few feet away. "First, Harry doesn't actually like attention all that much. Have you ever seen him act like - say, Lockhart?" he asked, speaking slowly to get his point across. Colin paused and thought. Then he mutely shook his head. "Right. Harry's a normal guy that wants to live a normal life. Because of his troublesome past, he most likely won't be able to. I want to give him at least a semi-normal school life." Though, going by their progress so far, that wouldn't be happening.

Colin nodded in understanding, getting the unspoken message that Harry couldn't exactly do that with someone following him around, asking for pictures. "But...can I be friends with him?" he asked a little desperately.

"You'll have to ask him that. But, he's a decent guy; he should say 'yes' if you aren't weird about it," Shikamaru replied frankly. He was done with this - he wasn't a relationship counselor. If it was anyone else but a friend, he probably would have let them deal with it on their own. Colin looked enormously relieved. He might have said more, but raised voices caught their attention. Both of them looked over to see-

Ah. Malfoy. Well, that would explain the grumpiness and ire on the trios' faces. Shikamaru shook his head and wandered over.

"-little man crush!" Malfoy was saying. Shikamaru took a second to wonder the fact that Malfoy knew what that was. Then, he took another second to look at his friend's' expressions. Very much Not Happy.

"Shut up!" Ron snapped. Yes, stunning comeback. Maybe, if Shikamaru didn't find this a little bit amusing, he would be mad enough to join the...argument (?). His friends clearly couldn't use witticisms to save their lives.

"You're just jealous!" Colin said, suddenly pitching in. Stupid, brave little first year. Were all Gryffindors this...without self preservation? It wasn't the first time Shikamaru wondered this, and it certainly wouldn't be the last. But seriously, who challenged people twice their size? Why, impressionable Gryffindors, apparently. It was probably a rite of passage. In order to be a true Gryffindor, one had to pull off a stunningly idiotic and brave stunt (he wondered if the other houses had to deal with something like this. Slytherin - con someone into getting something, Hufflepuff - do a random act of kindness in front of two people, Ravenclaw - read twenty books of at least five hundred pages in length, or something).

Shikamaru's musings were interrupted by the arrival of Lockhart, a most unwelcome addition.

"Well, what do we have here?" the man asked jovially. Malfoy suddenly gained a very evil look.

"Why, Creevy was just about to take a picture of Potter, and Potter was going to sign it!" he said with faux innocence. No one except Professor Dunce believed it.

"Marvelous!" Lockhart exclaimed merrily. "Come on, young Creevy, you can get the both of us, my treat." _And_ Harry's, the ass.

Malfoy snickered and held back a guffaw, while Crabbe and Goyle just chuckled stupidly. In another universe, the first year might have snatched up the opportunity, leaving Harry thoroughly embarrassed and Malfoy full of satisfaction. After having it pointed out to him that Harry didn't particularly enjoy being in the spotlight, Colin hesitated. Genuinely good person with some ridiculous notions – not uncommon.

"Actually, sir," Colin said nervously. Lockhart's smile was a little frightening in its brightness. "I was just asking Harry if he could act natural while I practiced viewing people from different angles, I wasn't actually going to take any pictures. And the signed thing was a joke."

It was a good thing Lockhart was focusing so much on Colin. He didn't see Ron's mouth drop open, Malfoy's face twist in displeasure, Hermione smile in relief, and Shikamaru's smirk of triumph. If he had seen all of these things, events might have gone differently. As it was, his smile flickered briefly and then came back brighter than ever. Shikamaru absently wondered if that was the first time someone had declined the option to take a picture of him. Feh, the man needed to learn that the earth didn't revolve around him sometime.

"Ah! I see! Such dedication is admirable," the man said brightly. Too brightly. He then went on a tangent about one of his adventures that Shikamaru didn't bother listening to. Instead, he nodded once in approval at Colin, who absolutely _beamed_ in response. Even Harry was grinning, despite his close proximity to his blond professor. After a few more words, presumably of advice, Lockhart departed, leaving a fuming group of Slytherins and a happy group of Gryffindors.

As soon as Lockhart was out of sight, Malfoy rounded on Colin, who shrunk back in spite of his earlier courage. It seemed to have occurred to him that angering an older boy wasn't a good idea, no matter how big a prat. Good, at least he had _some_ common sense.

"Just wait, half-blood scum," he spat viciously. "I'll get you for that." Then, he turned around and stormed off. Crabbe and Goyle followed, shooting the poor first year threatening glances. At least, Shikamaru thought he was intimidated until, after Crabbe and Goyle had turned around, he leapt into the air in _excitement_ of all things.

"That was _brilliant_!" he shouted squeakily. "Did you see Malfoy's face? A-and Professor Lockhart was totally fooled. Man, I thought he'd ask why I didn't choose someone else for the picture, but it was lucky he didn't."

"See, those types of deep-meaning questions would require actual _brains_ , which Lockhart is in short supply of," Shikamaru said dryly. Ron laughed and Hermione huffed.

"No need to be _rude_ ," she sniffed. Harry raised an eyebrow at her.

"Is it rude if it's the truth?" he asked, cocking his head and trying to sound sincere. Since he was grinning, it didn't work. She just harrumphed and crossed her arms. "And Colin? Thanks."

Colin's face would split in two if he kept smiling like he did.

…

* * *

Lockhart's Defense class was not so worthy of celebration. It started out unsatisfactory enough, what with the questionnaire all based on Lockhart's likes and dislikes. Goodness, he was giving out so much material that could be used against him. Kakashi would be proud of the way Shikamaru came up with half a dozen ways to kill Lockhart without the use of his weapons or jutsu during that testing period. It was probably for the best that Hermione wasn't sitting next to him, she would be absolutely horrified with the things he absently jotted down and then crossed out.

He didn't even bother answering any of the questions. If the man would treat his own subject like a joke, than Shikamaru would treat his class the same way. He could learn his own Defense through the library. As Lockhart gathered the papers, Shikamaru made a mental note to ask Professor Snape some questions about Defense. The man was probably more suited to the position of teacher of DADA than Lockhart, even with his prickly personality.

Although, _anything_ was better than Lockhart's perpetual cheerful roguishness. He was like Naruto in that he was cheerful twenty-four-seven, but unlike Naruto, he wasn't sincere about it. Shikamaru sighed in resignation as the Cornish Pixies broke out of their cage. He was so done with today. And he hoped that Lockhart didn't find his wand without messing up his perfectly gelled hair. He'd taken one look at the golden locks and had snorted – probably spelled in place, along with a few gallons of hair product. And he'd thought _Ino_ was vain.

A few well placed freezing charms and bursts of killing intent later - after the stupid creatures tried to put Neville on the chandelier - and Shikamaru was picking up his books, trying not to listen as Hermione did her best to defend their incredibly questionable professor. He didn't know why Harry and Ron bothered anymore. The only thing that would convince her was hardcore proof that the man was a fraud.

He also needed to speak to Snape ASAP if he wanted to get anything useful out of this year's DADA.

* * *

 **Charms and Spells:**

 **Freezing Charm (** _ **Immobulus**_ **): Spell that immobilizes living things.**

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 **(1): Short and sweet. Also, think of his recovery as his magic having reacted to his dream. Or think that his family somehow healed him across universes. Your choice.**

 **(2): Just a thought of, did wizards completely miss both World Wars? And- no human could possibly react fast enough to dodge a bullet they didn't move before the trigger was pulled, let alone cast a spell, and some wizards probably wouldn't even think of guns being a threat. Besides, I'm pretty sure an elite soldier like a Navy SEAL or the SBS could take down an Auror no problem, especially if they knew what they were up against. Just food for thought.**

 **(3): Despite the fact that Colin was a bit of a little pain in the ass during this book, he wasn't a bad kid, and he certainly didn't deserve to die in DH. But, Shikamaru also won't let people get away with the publicizing Harry crap.**

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 **Guest Reviews (Bottom to Top):**

 **Guest:** **I am flattered that you think so, truly. I honestly didn't think it would be so well received. And no, kind person, you made** _ **my**_ **day. And here's another chapter, so...hope you didn't finish this one too quickly, though it's very short… Anyway, thanks so much for the review!**

 **Cloud:** **Aside from the fact that I adore your name, hah, I'm embarrassed. I'm sorry about AO3, I have not' been giving my friend chapters to put on there. Whoops. Anyway, I think we answered your comment on there too. And if that update was a sign, than I'm sorry, because this thing is Late. I'm glad you enjoyed the summer, and yeah, it was supposed to, especially the last few sentences. Poor Shikamaru, he doesn't even know how troublesome this year will be. And, I think that letters** _ **are**_ **the wizarding version of cell phones, just slower. Like telegraphs, except...letters. Ah, I'm tired and not logical. Thanks for reviewing and reading!**

 **Guest:** **Why thank you. I'm glad you liked it. Much appreciation and thanks for the review!**

 **Who:** **First of all, interesting name, and second of all, yes! An update! And here's another! Ha, I'm so terrible to my readers… And sorry, but...no pairings with Shikamaru. I think it would make him feel like a pedophile to be with someone so young, and he still holds hope for reuniting with Temari and Shikadai. So, canon pairings! Luna marries someone nice - that unfortunately isn't Neville, because I shipped that until it sunk - and Shikamaru may or may not get home! Thanks for the input and opinion though!**

 **TheIdioticMelody : ****Yeah, my profile...another thing I don't update enough. And I will never give up on this story! I was just momentarily discouraged. And thank you for saying that, it's one thing to come up with an original-ish plot; it's another to try and make it good. Thank you for your uplifting review!**

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 **A/N: Sorry I'm late. I don't know what's wrong with me. Anyway, here it is, though I'm not entirely sure what I just wrote makes sense since I wrote most of it today. Also: I'm going to go back and rewrite book 1 slowly - and then move on to book 2. I'm going to make major adjustments because; I went back and was like...what did I do to Shikamaru?**

 **I'm going to delete stuff, add stuff, and generally change quite a lot - starting with Shikamaru. I appreciate the love for how I characterized him, but I think I made him too proactive and a little immature, despite his de-aging side effects - and he didn't take enough naps. I'll let you know of the changes at the end of each chapter that I made to the previous chapters, for those of you who don't want to reread the entire thing.**

 **By the way, accepting requests for memories of Shikamaru's childhood, because I've about run out of ideas. So...anything you want to see - that's plausible, no young Shikamaru fighting off dragons or something - please inform me. Otherwise, the quality of those things are going to go down real fast. Also, the quote doesn't really fit, so I'll replace it later.**

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 **RECOMMENDATIONS: (Tell me if you have any of your own).**

 **Bitter Memories – daydreamer1227: Two-shot with Harry, Teddy (his godson), and Vernon Dursley. Reuniting at a party, and hurts and feels. Just…do yourself a favor and read this. It really hits the heart. K+ for feels.**

 **Ghost – cywcross: One of my all time favorite stories, no joke. Brilliant, fun, and feelish. Thank you so much, author, for writing this, even though it's only 3 chapters long and hasn't been updated in years. Time Travel/Auish, where Naruto has a friend that looks a hell of a lot like him. Not really for Sasuke lovers, but I think you'd like it anyway, because it's a bit realistic on that front. T for violence and language.**


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